Bo Horvat Is Under Evaluation After a Hit That Had His Islanders Teammates Ready To Throw Hands

Islanders captain Bo Horvat is under evaluation after Chicago Blackhawks center Frank Nazar dropped a straight-up illegal hit on him Thursday night. The 31-year-old center took the shot right after he scored his second goal of the night, burying an empty netter that solidified New York’s 4-1 win over Chicago. It was a victory, sure, but the aftermath left everyone talking about the dirty play.

Nazar’s Cheap Shot on Horvat Ignited the Ice

Picture this: Horvat launches the puck down the ice for an empty net goal, the kind of play that closes out a win. But instead of skating off to celebrate, Nazar came flying in, driving his shoulder right into Horvat’s head. Our guy was twisting through the air, landed hard on his side, and was definitely slow to get up. He made it off the ice on his own power, thankfully, but that doesn’t make the hit any less disgusting. The refs saw it clear as day, handing Nazar a major penalty and a game misconduct. Islanders head coach Peter DeBoer summed it up perfectly after the game: “You don’t like that hit, especially at that time in the game and who it’s on.” He felt they got the call right, but nobody wants to see that.

Islanders Teammates Weren’t Having It

You know what happens when you mess with a team’s leader? Absolute chaos. Immediately after that garbage hit, Horvat’s teammates , Logan Stanley, Matthew Schaefer, Kyle Palmieri, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau , swarmed the Blackhawks. It was an all-out brawl, guys going to bat for their captain. Defender Logan Stanley laid it out after the game, and you gotta love the passion: “That’s our captain. That’s our leader. You know, it doesn’t matter who it is, you come after one of us, you gotta come after all of us.” He was right, too, saying, “Great job by everybody sticking up for him. That’s what good teams do.” That’s the kind of team you want to root for, one that stands together no matter what.

So now, everyone’s just waiting for an update on Horvat. Here’s hoping the captain is back on the ice soon, because his teammates already showed they’ll go to war for him.

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Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.