Islanders Defenseman Thomas Hickey Just Had The Hit Of The NHL Playoffs So Far

Thomas Hickey is a middling defenseman for the New York Islanders who has never really lived up to his billing after he was selected fourth overall in the 2007 NHL Draft. But on Tuesday night, Hickey made his presence known with the best open-ice hit of the NHL playoffs so far.

Hickey absolutely leveled Tampa Bay Lightning winger Jonathan Drouin during the second period of Game 3 of their second-round series. Drouin was slow to get up and later left the bench, though later returned to the ice. It appeared to be a clean hit as Hickey targeted the body. While it did appear he made contact with Drouin’s head, Drouin did duck into him a bit.

For my money this was a clean hit by Hickey and I don’t believe he’ll face further discipline.