Maurice responds to accusations of substance abuse by Scheifele

At Friday's press briefing in advance of game two, Scheifele spoke to reporters and gave his side of the story, saying he never meant to hurt Evans and was instead attempting to stop a goal from happening. After finishing his Q & A session, which you can read more about here, Jets coach Paul Maurice took the podium and had to answer for an allegation that came right out of left field.

Maurice was asked about allegations that Scheifele was abusing drugs or some other type of substance, to which he responded "Mark Scheifele is the cleanest living man I've ever met in my life."

The question was asked by Scott Billeck, who covers the Jets for the Winnipeg Sun. When asked why he would even bring it up, he responded that "Two media members made the allegation. Scheifele has the right to respond to it."

Apparently, shortly after the hit, at least two members of the media Tweeted photos of Scheifele with a look on his face like you see in the photo accompanying this blog and wondered whether he was on something. That look was given by Scheifele likely out of concern for Evans combined with surprise over the outcome and/or response to the play. Whether the look was right or wrong to give at the time, accusing him of being on something because of it is just plain silly. For those unaware, Scheifele is practising Christian, something he has said in the past that he takes very seriously. That's not to say he can't falter like every other human being, but to make this type of allegation based simply on a look is trashy and should never have happened.