Boston Bruins' Max Jones Lands Brutal Slash on Referee During Post-Whistle Scrum: Will He Get Suspended?

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Julien Trekker
October 9, 2024 (9:19)

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Boston Bruins' Max Jones landed a brutal slash on a referee during a post-whistle scrum, leaving many people wondering if he'll be suspended.

Last night, the Florida Panthers held their home opener against the Boston Bruins. The night started with one of the greatest traditions in hockey, when the Panthers hoisted the Stanley Cup banner up the rafters of their arena.�

Sam Bennett, the Panthers' forward, opened up about that great moment and the rest of the night after the game:

«It is an emotional start to the season. Seeing that banner go up while you are shoulder-to-shoulder with the guys is pretty special. It definitely gave us a little juice to start the season off. We were right back to playing our style of hockey. It was a great start."

After that great moment, fans got to see an action-packed game between the two teams, who met for the last time in the second round of the playoffs. The Panthers were the better team on the ice and ended up beating the Bruins 6-4, who were without their number one goaltender Swayman.

According to head coach Jim Montgomery, that's not an exuse. The team simply wasn'T good enough last night.

Here's what he said in his post-game press conference:

"We weren't good enough in so many areas tonight. They were. Their execution was really good and ours was really poor. I can't pinpoint why we looked slow, but we looked slow the entire game, not just the first 10 minutes."

All night long, we could feel the animosity between teams. At some point, a Bruins' player accidentally hit a referee with his stick.

With a few minutes left to the second period, the Bruins' forward Max Jones and the Panthers' veteran Evan Rodrigues were near the net and defusing the situation. Rodrigues taunted Jones by putting his stick on Jones' shoulder. In an attempt to remove the stick, Jones ended up hitting the referee on the arm with his stick.

Immediately after the hit, Jones went up to the referee to apologize and to see if he was fine. He ended up getting a two-minute penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct for what he did.

Watch the video here:

Even if he didn't receive a game misconduct, some people believe he could face additional consequences for hitting the ref. However, considering that it was accidental, it would be surprising to see the NHL's Department of Player Safety act on this issue.