Today In NHL History - Malkin Boards Mitchell

On January 16th in 2010, Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins shoved defenseman Willie Mitchell head first into the boards with his team trailing by four goals with 7 minutes to play.

Mitchell sustained a concussion on the play forcing him to miss the remaining 105 days (46 games) of the Vancouver Canucks season and jeopardizing his off-season free agent value. Malkin, meanwhile, received a mere minor penalty and miraculously escaped NHL suspension.

Sixteen weeks later Willie spoke to the media for the first time since the incident, describing his recovery and calling out Colin Campbell for failing to control such on-ice incidents through supplemental discipline.

The Canucks beat the Penguins that night by a score of 6-2.

That's today in NHL history.

* See also Today In NHL History - Malkin Fights Zetterberg.