The problem isn’t with Ovechkin or Svechnikov or the running battle between them that started in October and escalated in each game since, the upstart trying to measure himself against the legend but giving away 40 pounds and 15 years of hard-won experience. The problem is with a game that endorses this atavistic bare-knuckle brawling, consequences be damned, out of some misguided hard-scrabble Alberta prairie notion of toughness.

The consequences, as seen here, can be dangerous. Even potentially deadly. (What if Svechnikov’s helmet had slid up an inch just before his head hit the ice?) That could be a career-changing concussion for Svechnikov, no one knows, and for what? No game, no playoff game, is worth that.

But that’s the uncertainty the Hurricanes, and Svechnikov, face now, no matter what else happens in this series.

-Luke DeCock of tne News & Observer where you can read more on this topic plus the Carolina win over Washington.

Watch the game highlights below.