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Crisis averted as NHL official kicks player in face during Leafs-Jets scrum

Thursday night's tilt between the Winnipeg Jets and Toronto Maple Leafs was a passionate affair but perhaps the craziest moment of all was one that only a few NHL fans originally noticed.

During one of the game's many scrums, a linesman got knocked off balance and was barely able to catch himself from falling to the ice. While it seemed quite innocent at the time, a slow-motion replay showed just how much worse it could have gone, as his skate made contact with Evgeny Svechnikov's face.

Despite being stunned initially, the Jets forward was okay and was able to finish the game. It turned out to be a lucky situation, as this could have had a much more serious result.

The Maple Leafs ended up walking away with a 7-3 victory, led by William Nylander, Ilya Mikheyev, and Mitch Marner, all of whom recorded three points. Goaltender Erik Kallgren was able to pick up his fourth win of the season, kicking aside 20 of the 23 shots he faced.

At the other end, both Nikolaj Ehlers and Mark Scheifele recorded two points on the evening, while Eric Comrie took the loss in net, allowing six goals on 37 shots. It was a tough loss for the Jets, who remain on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoff picture in the Western Conference.

A terrible situation was narrowly avoided during an NHL game in Toronto this week.
A terrible situation was narrowly avoided during an NHL game in Toronto this week.

Despite a number of great individual performances, Auston Matthews was the player everyone was talking about after this contest, as he recorded his 50th goal of the season. He became only the fourth Maple Leaf in franchise history to reach the impressive milestone.

The discussion surrounding the game certainly could have been much different if the situation with Svechnikov and the linesman played out differently, but thankfully nothing major came of it.

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