Two Former NHL Players Speak Out on Noel Acciari's Dangerous Hit on Juraj Slafkovsky

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Julien Trekker
November 3, 2024 (9:13)

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The Pittsburgh Penguins forward Noel Acciari faces heavy criticism for a dirty hit he landed last night on Montreal Canadiens' Juraj Slafkovsky.

Yesterday, the Canadiens were in Pittsburgh to face Sidney Crosby and the Penguins. After a few tough losses, Martin St. Louis and his men were expected to come out strong on the ice tonight, but they couldn't deliver, and the Pens won 3-1.

With only a few minutes left in the third period, the former Maple Leafs player Noel Acciari landed a dangerous hit on Juraj Slafkovsy's head. After the play, Slafkovsky retreated to the locker room and never returned to the game.

Watch the following video to see how it all went down:

After the game, the Hockey Night in Canada panel discussed the incident. Two former NHLers, Kevin Bieksa and Luke Gazdic shared their opinions on the hit.

For Gazdic, he simply stated that he didn't like the reverse hit from Acciari:

"It's a reverse hit from Acciari and you'll see he kind of gets his arm/elbow up. I don't like it from that angle."

As for Bieksa, he qualified the hit as dirty:

"In hockey that's a dirty hit. We all know what's happening, two guys are racing for the puck, they are both reaching, and the guy who is supposed to get the puck first just leaves it and hits the guy. That is a bit of a dirty hit."

After the hit, Habs' enforcer Xhekaj, who's been under a lot of scrutiny recently, tried to send a message to the Penguins. He went after his opponents, trying to retaliate for Slafkovsky's injury.

Bieksa supported him, saying he'd do the same thing if an opponent went after one of his teammates:

"I wouldn't care if it's clean or not - you get my guy; I'm getting you back at some point."