There's really no way to sugarcoat it - the Leafs absolutely got spanked by the New York Islanders on Tuesday night, dropping a 7-2 decision to the Isles in enemy territory. But, while the score was run up that high against the Leafs, that wasn't really the storyline that everyone was following after the game.
During the first period, Noel Acciari had lined up Isles center Brock Nelson for a hit in the corner of the Islanders' zone. The problem was, Nelson curled back along the wall and Acciari didn't let up, following through with the hit while Nelson was in a vulnerable position.
Following the hit, Nelson left the game, bloodied, and did not return. We can argue all day long about whether Nelson put himself in a vulnerable position and, in turn, was at fault for his own injury or whether it was Acciari's responsibility to recognize that Nelson had put himself in a vulnerable position and knowing that he should have pulled up on the hit or simply not finished as hard. Either way, it's all irrelevant now, as Player Safety has apparently made its decision on whether or not it warranted supplemental discipline.
Player Safety has not issued a fine, nor have they offered a hearing to Acciari for the hit, meaning that once the league took a look at the hit, they didn't see enough there to warrant supplemental discipline. That's good news for Acciari, who had just returned from an injury of his own, following a questionable hit from Jesse Puljujarvi last Friday, which, coincidentally, was also not acted on by Player Safety.
