Victor Hedman calls spear on Nico Hischier ‘immature play by me’

Victor Hedman got away with one here, getting his stick between Nico Hischier’s legs and catching the Devils forward in the private parts.

If you were wondering why David Puddy Devils fans were booing Tampa Bay Lightning defenceman Victor Hedman in Game 4, something they didn’t do in Game 3, the reasoning goes a little deeper than the fact he’s a star player and a Norris Trophy finalist.

Let’s look back to the end of Game 3 when, with a little more than a minute left, Hedman appeared to get away with a spear to the groin of rookie Nico Hischier. The play went unpenalized and, since the Lightning were on the power play at the time while trailing by only one, the Devils were rightly enraged by the missed call.

So when the two teams returned to Prudential Center ice in Game 4, the Devils faithful let the hate rain down on Hedman whenever he touched the puck. On Friday, the defenceman was asked about the boos in New Jersey and he owned up to the act.

“I probably deserved it,” Hedman said, according to Joe Smith of The Athletic. “Doesn’t belong in this game. Immature play by me.”

There was a lot of booing going on because in Tampa’s 3-1 win in Game 4, Hedman logged 27:58 of ice time and was a plus-2. Hischier was less of a factor, being held to one shot and a minus-1 rating in 16:57 of ice time.

Game 5 moves back to Tampa Bay and is scheduled for 3:00 pm ET Saturday afternoon, which you can watch on Sportsnet 360. If the Devils win, the series will head back to New Jersey one last time on Monday.

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