LA Kings: Lias Andersson leveled by dirty hit in HV71’s win

Despite HV71 winning 3-1, LA Kings’ prospect Lias Andersson saw his four-game point streak come to an end on Tuesday and was trucked on what looked like a dirty hit.

Lias Andersson is no stranger to rollercoaster rides as of late. The LA Kings acquired the former seventh overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft in exchange for a second-round pick in this year’s draft. He was in the middle of serving a five-game suspension and hadn’t played in 21 days.

But you would never know it, as Andersson returned last Thursday and scored on his only shot on net. In HV71’s 6-4 win over Brynäs, the 22-year-old logged a season-high 19:13 on-ice time.

He wasn’t as fortunate on Tuesday, logging 14:21 on-ice time.

Andersson had two shots on goal while winning 71 percent of his faceoffs. No goals and no assists meant the end of his four-game point streak dating back to September 24. A big reason why he logged his lowest on-ice time since the point streak began was due to this hit by Emil Heineman.

The caption indicates Mattias Göransson but has since been clarified to be Heineman.

Regardless, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Heineman is suspended for this tackle. With the way that the SHL handles “high-risk injury” hits, he’s likely to sit for a few games. Andersson wasn’t involved in the play, and Heineman takes a look at him before what looks like a dirty hit.

According to several reports, Andersson made it to the bench under his own power but was bleeding from the nose. A testament to how tough this kid is, Andersson had his nose stuffed, and he remained in the game.

It’ll be interesting to see if this hit ends up in the SHL’s situation room. Given the recent suspensions on hits Andersson and Tobias Bjornfot had, Heineman would appear to be due for some time in the stands and a fine.

HV71 and Andersson’s next game comes on Thursday.