Will Cuylle hammers Alex Pietrangelo with a huge hit.

When Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo recently pulled out of the 4 Nations Face Off where he was scheduled to represent his home country of Canada to deal with an ailment, it may have been because he had a premonition of what his fellow countryman would do to him over the weekend.

On Sunday night, Pietrangelo was on the receiving end of a huge hit during a clash between his Golden Knights and the New York Rangers, one that would come courtesy of fellow Canadian Will Cuylle.

Cuylle would catch Pietrangelo by surprise in the third period when Pietrangelo got caught admiring his own pass deep in his own end, unaware of the danger that was rapidly closing in. Cuylle showed the unsuspecting Pietrangelo no mercy, launching him through the air before he would come crashing down hard on the ice.

Here's a look at the replay of the devastating impact:

Much to his credit Pietrangelo would get back to his feet and skate back to the bench under his own power and seemed to be in pretty good shape given the car wreck he had just been a part of.

The Golden Knights however would not let Cuylle get away with such a devastating hit on one of their top players and moments after the hit Nicolas Hague would quickly challenge Cuylle to drop the gloves. Cuylle would oblige but mounted little offense in the fight, with Hague largely dictating the pace and throwing the majority of the shots during the exchange.