Had Game 1 not finished as furiously as it did with the Chicago Blackhawks storming back to steal a 2-1 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning, we’d probably be spending a lot more time talking about the bite alleged ‘round the world. We didn’t see it or hear it, but all of the evidence suggested Blackhawks forward Andrew Shaw bit Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman in the ribs while the latter had the former in a mini headlock during a scrum.
The NHL reportedly looked into the incident, but found no evidence to hold a hearing or issue any supplemental discipline to Shaw. Let’s review the tape once again:
All that’s there for evidence is Hedman lifting up his jersey to be examined by the athletic trainer and appearing to tell teammate Brenden Morrow, “he bit me.” That’s not much, but it was enough to have us all wondering if Shaw really did what our assumptions and Hedman's lips say he did.
The only two people who truly know for sure what happened are Shaw and Hedman. Unfortunately for the rest of us, when given the opportunity as both teams met the media Friday, neither offered any details.
Hedman alludes to something happening, but wouldn’t say what.
Victor Hedman on whether Andrew Shaw bit him: “I’m not going to comment on that anymore. Things happen during games. I’ll leave it at that.”
— Chris Kuc (@ChrisKuc) June 5, 2015
Shaw would neither confirm nor deny that he sunk his teeth into Hedman.
Andrew Shaw on if he bit Victor Hedman: "I’m not going to get into details. We’re here to focus on the next game, and, you know, hockey."
— Chris Kuc (@ChrisKuc) June 5, 2015
Once Game 2 comes along, the bite will end up even more of a footnote. However, let this be a lesson to the rest of the league: If you put Andrew Shaw in a headlock, he may or may not subtly bite you.
