Nikita Kucherov stays down after scary cross-check into the boards
The referees went to the screen and came back with a minor. Jake Evans gets two minutes for the play that left Corey Perry bleeding Sunday night.
Some wanted a major. Others wanted nothing at all and pointed straight at Nikita Kucherov for selling it. The room never agreed.
What everyone did agree on? Kucherov was right back over the boards for the ensuing power play.
That's the part that has Montreal fans howling. The same player accused of embellishment got rewarded with two minutes of man-advantage time on the very next shift.
Tampa, of course, will tell you Perry's cut speaks for itself. You don't fake blood. The contact was real.
But Martin St-Louis loses a forward for two minutes against the most dangerous power play unit in this series. That math hurts.
-
Nikita Kucherov draws Habs heat after embellishment claims
Kucherov went into Game 4 leading Tampa with 4 points in the series. One goal, three assists, plus-2 through the first three games combined.
That's exactly why this stings in Montreal. The 32-year-old superstar gets the benefit of the doubt every night, and the Habs feel like he just cashed in another one.
Evans is 29 and earns $2.85 million on a Montreal team that doesn't have many like him on the bench. Two minutes off the ice matters in a tight game.
He was a plus-1 through three playoff games before tonight. The Canadiens depend on him to play heavy defensive minutes.
Why does a defensive forward get punished on an aggressive review while the embellishment debate stays open on the other side? Welcome to playoff officiating.
The Habs lead this series 2-1 with all three games settled in overtime. Every single special teams shift is going to swing this thing.
Kucherov on the man-advantage is the worst possible matchup for any penalty kill in the league. The vision, the patience, the way Jon Cooper structures that first unit.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 26 | 484 ANSWERS Nikita Kucherov stays down after scary cross-check into the boards Was that a Kucherov dive on Jake Evans ? | ||
| Yes | 352 | 72.7 % |
| No | 132 | 27.3 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
|
EN DIRECT
5 MAI 2026
| ||||
| B | P | PTS | ||
| Nathan MacKinnon | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Gabriel Landeskog | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Martin Necas | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Brett Kulak | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Marcus Johansson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Kirill Kaprizov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Valeri Nichushkin | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nicolas Roy | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Ross Colton | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ryan Hartman | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Daemon Hunt | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nazem Kadri | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Brock Nelson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Danila Yurov | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mats Zuccarello | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nick Blankenburg | - | - | - | |
| Matthew Boldy | - | - | - | |
| Brent Burns | - | - | - | |
| Jack Drury | - | - | - | |
| Brock Faber | - | - | - | |
| STATS COMPLÈTES | ||||