Colorado Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews is not a popular man in Tampa Bay right now. After a dirty cross-check on Nikita Kucherov knocked the Lightning star out of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, Toews opened up on the play and had a brutally honest reaction. Via Peter Baugh, Toews claims to have not been aiming to injure Kucherov on the play, explaining that he was simply trying to play tight defense on the Lightning's elite forward.
Devon Toews on the Nikita Kucherov play: "I'm not trying to hurt anyone out here. I'm just trying to play him tight."
— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) June 21, 2022
“I'm not trying to hurt anyone out here. I'm just trying to play him tight,” said Toews of Kucherov on Tuesday after the Avs suffered a 6-2 defeat in Game 3.
While Kucherov is expected to be available in Game 4 on Wednesday night, according to Jon Cooper, it was still a scary sight for Lightning fans as their star player hobbled off the ice with a leg injury. In what was likely an avoidable hit, Toews insisted that he had no intention of injuring Kucherov on the play. That didn't prevent him from being blasted by the likes of Jon Cooper and Victor Hedman, as well as virtually the entirety of the Lightning fan base, for what they rightfully deemed to be a dirty play.
With Game 4 set for Wednesday night in Tampa Bay, don't be surprised to hear a chorus of boos rain down from the crowd when Toews takes the floor. And he may very well want to keep his eye out for some big hits from Lightning enforcers, as the Avalanche defenseman will likely have a target on his back following the injury he dealt to Kucherov on Monday night.
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