NHL analyst clears the air around Nico Hischier's controversial empty net play

NHL analyst Brandon Plant provided context around the heated incident sparked by Nico Hischier's controversial empty net goal against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night.

In the final seconds with New Jersey leading 4-3, Hischier fired the puck into the vacant Senators net just after the final horn had sounded.

This immediately drew the ire of Ottawa's Brady Tkachuk, who charged toward Nico Hischier looking to instigate a fight. Officials intervened before things could escalate, but a furious Tkachuk broke free and dropped his gloves, setting his sights on Devils defenseman Brendan Smith instead.

Once again, referees stepped in to prevent a line brawl from breaking out on the ice in response to Hischier's late shot.

Plant explained how this situation differed from a similar incident in February when Toronto's Morgan Rielly cross-checked Ottawa's Ridly Greig on the head after an empty net goal.

"This is different than what Ridly Greig did with the slapshot goal for two reasons. One, Tkachuk didn’t crosscheck this guy in the head like a lunatic and two, the goal didn’t count because it went in after the horn," Plant said.

"I’m not mad about it, they won the game and they earned the right to do what they want but you have to understand the response there by Tkachuk with the context of the chipiness of the game,” Plant added.

By providing important context, Plant justified why Tkachuk was upset while also clarifying that Nico Hischier's actions weren't nearly as dangerous or malicious as the previous incident involving Rielly.

Nico Hischier's Devils' 4-3 win over Senators

The New Jersey Devils snapped their three-game losing streak on Saturday night, defeating the Ottawa Senators 4-3. The win was powered by a goal and two assists from defenseman Brendan Smith.

The Devils jumped out to a commanding 3-0 first-period lead over the Senators. Goals from Erik Haula, Ondrej Palat and Smith gave New Jersey a comfortable advantage after just 20 minutes of play.

Smith's goal, a blistering slap shot from the blue line, chased Ottawa starter Anton Forsberg from the game after allowing three goals on just nine shots.

Rookie Jake Sanderson got Ottawa on the board with a power play goal early in the second to cut the lead to 3-1. But Nico Hischier responded for the Devils minutes later, sniping one past Senators goalie Joonas Korpisalo to restore the three-goal edge at 4-1.

In the third, the Senators mounted a valiant comeback attempt. Claude Giroux notched a power play tally, and Brady Tkachuk broke in alone to beat Devils netminder Jake Allen to make it 4-3. But New Jersey tightened up defensively and limited Ottawa's chances down the stretch to secure the win.