Former NHLer sends his opponent over the boards with a massive hit

BarDown Staff

Jesse Joensuu hits Sergei Kuptsov , YouTube/KHL

Jokerit and Ugra went head-to-head in KHL action this past weekend in Helsinki and the fans in attendance certainly got their money’s worth. The two teams ended the first period locked at 1-1, but provided plenty of scoring the rest of the way.

They combined for 5 goals in the second period and another three in the third, which included Ugra tying the game at 5-5 with less than four minutes to play, and the game-winning goal from Jokerit less than two minutes later.

You would think that the best highlight from an 11-goal hockey game would be a goal, but it’s actually a huge hit. Just past the midway point of the second period, Ugra’s Sergei Kuptsov was just looking to make a routine breakout pass, but instead ended up going for an unexpected trip onto the Jokerit bench, courtesy of former NHLer Jesse Joensuu.

Kuptsov did a pretty good job holding himself up as he went over the boards, because that could have been a much more painful trip for him. As for Joensuu, the former NHLer played 67 games with the New York Islanders and 62 with the Edmonton Oilers, totaling 24 points and 77 penalties in minutes during his six NHL seasons.

It feels like massive hits like this that send players over the boards happen a lot more in the KHL than they do in the NHL. Former Maple Leaf Brandon Kozun pulled off a massive hit like this in late December.