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Joe Thornton will be suspended for this ugly hit (Video)

By Brad Berreman

LAS VEGAS, NV - APRIL 14: Tomas Nosek #92 of the Vegas Golden Knights falls to the ice after a late hit to the head by Joe Thornton #19 of the San Jose Sharks during the second period in Game Three of the Western Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena on April 14, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/NHLI via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - APRIL 14: Tomas Nosek #92 of the Vegas Golden Knights falls to the ice after a late hit to the head by Joe Thornton #19 of the San Jose Sharks during the second period in Game Three of the Western Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena on April 14, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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With an out of character hit Sunday night, San Jose Sharks center Joe Thornton will surely be suspended for a game or two.

At 39 years old, this could be the last season of Joe Thornton’s career. The only thing his Hall of Fame resume lacks is a Stanley Cup, so any missed playoff games where he could help his team are lost opportunities.

Trailing the Vegas Golden Knights 4-1 late in the second period Sunday night, on their way to a 6-3 loss, it’s safe to say the San Jose Sharks were collectively frustrated. But that doesn’t excuse over the top physical play, and Thornton had an inexcusable bad moment.

At his age and size (6-foot-4, 220 pounds), it can be hard for “Jumbo Joe” to maneuver quickly. He was going toward the puck, in the possession of Knights’ forward Tomas Nosek before he flipped it up the ice on his backhand.

But rather than square Nosek up more cleanly, even with a size advantage that would’ve made the hit look rough, Thornton clearly went high.

https://twitter.com/hockeyfights/status/1117635869937004547

After the game, via the San Jose Mercury News, Thornton tried to dismiss the severity of the hit and seemed to place some level of blame on Nosek for being in a vulnerable position.

"I honestly thought I barely touched him,” Thornton said. “He just came right back; it was just one of those plays that it is what it is. I think my son hits me like that six times a day, it’s just a weird position to put himself in. That’s all."

Thornton somehow only received a two-minute minor for an illegal check to the head, with just over three minutes left in the second period, and Nosek was no worse for the wear with a return to the ice early in the third period.

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Thornton will have a hearing on Monday, with the one-game ban Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning got for a boarding hit in Game 2 of their series as the easy expectation for a suspension. With a point in each of the first three games against Vegas, Thornton will be a notable absence as the Sharks look to even the series up on Tuesday night.

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