Paul Maurice Reacts to Max Domi's Late Hit on Aleksander Barkov, Hints at NHL Review

The Maple Leafs did not come out with their best on Sunday night against the Panthers, and it seems that their frustration boiled over at several points in the game.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson got nailed for a huge hit on Evan Rodrigues, leading to a potential suspension, and the team was very undisciplined all night including a four penalty first period.

But it was Max Domi's dangerous board on Aleksander Barkov that is getting a lot of attention.

Towards the end of the game, Domi clearly shoved Barkov on the numbers and put him face first into the boards, causing a huge (but expected) fracas.

Paul Maurice and company wasn't too happy with things, and speaking to the media post-game, revealed that he wasn't pleased with Domi's antics, and mentioned the NHL will probably take a second look:

Granted, it was right at the end of the game and the NHL does normally tend to make a bigger issue of late game issues than early ones.

However, if that's the case then why didn't Artem Zub get suspended for elbowing John Tavares in the head, knocking him out of OT? Surely that is close to the end of the game; it's sudden death.

It's also ironic coming from Maurice though, considering that there were several different incidents that warranted a suspension, including a vicious elbow to the head of Mitch Marner that nobody seemed to care about.

It just adds to Sam Bennett's elbow knocking Anthony Stolarz out of the series, Rodrigues himself ended up laying out John Tavares with another dirty hit to no call.

While Gary Bettman can't just emerge from the shadows and say "It was me!" it certainly feels like he or the league has a hand in making sure that Florida gets every advantage possible.

Call it unmitigated bias, but two times in a coincidence, three times plus is a pattern, and we've seen this going on from the start of the year; whatever makes Toronto suffer, the NHL finds a way.

No doubt the NHL is going to take a look, and it wouldn't be surprising to see some punishment dished out to Domi and potentially Ekman-Larsson.

It's just yet another roadblock the Maple Leafs need to leap over to keep their playoff hopes alive.