Player safety reviewing Domi's late major, Berube sees Kulikov hit as '10 times worse'

Tempers flared at the end of the Toronto Maple Leafs' Game 4 loss to the Florida Panthers, with the two teams ending the game in a scrum kicked off by Max Domi hitting Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov into the boards in the dying seconds.

While players from both teams battled for the puck in the Panthers' zone, Domi checked an unsuspecting Barkov from behind head-first into the boards. While the buzzer sounded on Toronto's 2-0 loss, Domi was assessed a five-minute major for boarding on the game sheet.

It's unclear whether the 30-year-old centre will face discipline from the league's department of player safety for the incident. TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun reported Sunday night that the league was "looking at it" but the punishment, if any, Domi will face is unclear.

Asked about the hit Monday, Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said the league should shift their focus to look at the Dmitry Kulikov of the Panthers, who went uncalled for an apparent elbow on Mitch Marner earlier in Game 4.

"To me the Kulikov hit on Marner was 10 times worse," Berube told reporters.

"I think the league looks at those things very closely, especially at that point in the game and that's their job," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said when asked about the Domi hit post-game. 

Maurice added that he does not believe Barkov was injured on the play. The 29-year-old star centre has three goals and eight points in nine games this postseason. 

Domi has two goals and four points in 10 games in the playoffs while averaging 12:53 of ice time. The Maple Leafs have iced the same lineup among their skaters in eight straight games this spring.

With the series now knotted at two games apiece, Game 5 will take place Wednesday in Toronto.