Andrew Mangiapane Unloads on Brandon Carlo; Dirty Play or Fair Game?

I watched today's National Hockey League game between the Washington Capitals and the Boston Bruins this afternoon. For the most part, it was a boring game. The Bruins looked like they were still on their Christmas vacation. They were outworked most of the game, and when they did get a shot on the net, Capitals goalie Logan Thompson was there to make the save. Thompson stopped 27-of-28 shots, and the Bruins could not tie the game. The Capitals iced the game with an empty-net goal with nine seconds remaining. 

At 10:26 in the third period, the Bruins were killing a Capitals power play when Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman froze the puck, getting a whistle. Capitals forward Connor McMichael took an extra whack at the Bruins goaltender, starting a spirited scrum in front of the Bruins' net. This play happens hundreds of times during an NHL season, but what happened after was unacceptable. The smaller Mangiapane somehow got leverage on the much larger Brandon Carlo. Mangiapane used this as an opportunity to unload on Carlo. Mangiapen sat on top of Carlo as he lay on the ice, punching Carlo numerous times in the face. Even more surprising, none of the Bruins went after Mangiapane after he served his penalty. 

I see two problems with this. If Mangiapane had wanted to fight Carlo, he should've challenged him to a fight. That's how it's supposed to be done. Instead, Mangiapane broke the hockey code by continuing to hit Carlo after he was out of the fight and lying on the ice. 

It's easy to nitpick the on-ice officials, but the NHL's Department of Player Safety doesn't care about player safety, so nothing will happen to Mangiapane. Carlo has a history of concussions; according to Boston.com, he has suffered six documented concussions during his NHL career.  

Proper response by the officials: start holding the players accountable. All four players could've been given a two-minute minor and a misconduct penalty. Mangiapane deserves more than a two-minute minor. A five and a game would be a better response. 

Andrew Mangiapane (5'10") went OFF on Brandon Carlo (6'5") 😳👀 pic.twitter.com/xErlEtnwJi

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) December 31, 2024

Checking Hockey Fights, Andrew Mangiapane has never been in a fight, not in the OHL or the NHL. What caused this player to snap and act out of character?