[browna]

In my opinion, not a malicious hit, or that dirty.

Backlund had his head tucked into his chest trying to find and control the puck, while skating out across the ice into open ice, and the Wild had an extra player on said ice, which Backlund could’ve forgotten. Dumba has to step up and prevent him from skating out if the zone. Backlund never saw it coming, but that is not Dumbas fault either. If it had to be slowed down in reply to analyze, and Dumba hits Backlund in the upper chest where Backlund still had his head, leaving himself prone for that, tough to call that malicious. If it was from the side or along the boards or he gets and elbow up while Backlund is upright, that’s one thing, but that wasn’t this.

And TBQH, good for Lomberg, but my test for a lot of plays that fans get up in arms about (is offside, Staal saw it right away, JG didn’t argue) is how the players in the action react, and the guys on the ice immediately after didn’t react like it was a dirty hit either. It was a hard hit to a guy who cut across the open ice with his head (way too)down.