Kotkaniemi makes a strange gesture towards Romanov in front of the ref
The two former Montreal Canadien, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Alexander Romanov, clearly have not forgotten each other.
We witnessed a particular scene last night during game two between the Hurricanes and the Islanders, and it involves two youngsters well-known to CH fans.
Kotkaniemi and Romanov, both 2018 Canadiens draft picks, surprised the referee (and several fans).
In the playoffs, generally, there are no friends on the ice, and it gets quite heated among the players. The teams that face each other come to a point where they viscerally hate each other. (and it's important in a way)
However, this is obviously not the case for Kotkaniemi.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi looks for trouble, but plays the friendship card to get out of it
Just seconds after Kotkaniemi caused trouble near Islanders' goalie Semyon Varlamov, it was Romanov who approached him.
What happened next was quite unexpected, and the referee's reaction says a lot.
- Kotkaniemi, to Romanov
Live, the referee seemed quite surprised by this response. He was expecting a scuffle, but no, Kotkaniemi instead played the friendship card, right in the middle of the game and amidst the skirmish.
See the images:
It's rare to see this in the playoffs, let's say!
Here see the contrast between the reaction of Kotkaniemi and that of his teammate Stefan Noesen:
Credit : GoNordiques - CH: Kotkaniemi pose un geste inattendu envers Romanov devant l'arbitre
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