Almost as soon as the puck had dropped on the 2020 Winter Classic, the good feelings were sucked out of the Dallas Stars after Corey Perry’s poor decision to elbow Nashville Predators defensman Ryan Ellis in the head.
It’s a move that didn’t need to be made. In the process of moving the puck, Ellis had his body in a shooting position with his head down. Perry, who had lined Ellis up for a hit, stuck his elbow out to clip him in the head instead of playing the full body in a clean way (or, realistically what should have happened, just skating right past Ellis instead).