In Defense of Ryan Johansen

Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty ImagesWith a 3-1 lead and seven minutes to go against the Dallas Stars on Sunday night, the Nashville Predators really didn’t need to take a penalty, but they did. Social media lit up almost instantly with takes about the penalty, the penalty taker, and the circumstances surrounding it.

The penalty was a crosscheck. The guilty party was Ryan Johansen. It happened in the flurry of activity immediately following an ugly hit by Jason Dickinson on Roman Josi that looked a lot like boarding and had the Predators captain’s head slammed against the spot where the boards meet the glass. The contact left Josi bloodied and enraged as he was being cleaned up on the…