The predatory nature of reverse hits by NHL defensemen
1 min read
Self-defense. That is essentially how Cale Makar pitched it when he discussed the art of reverse hitting during a media session leading up to the 2022-23 NHL season.
“I know it’s controversial for some people,” Makar told a group of us at the time. “But, in my opinion, if they’re coming to hit you, why not hit them back?”
But what happens when you can’t say for certain if a player is in fact coming to hit you?
Can we really claim, for instance, that New Jersey Devils center Nico Hischier, proud owner of eight penalty minutes and worthy of Lady Byng Trophy consideration this season, was planning to deliver a thunderous hit from behind on Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin Friday night?
We’ll never know, will we? Dahlin hit him too soon for us to find out. But the circumstantial evidence implied otherwise. Hischier’s skates made snow as he slowed his momentum, seemingly looking to avoid contact as he prepared to corral the puck. That was when Dahlin delivered this devastating reverse hit:
