Tkachuk tries to save it by lifting his knee, once he realizes he’s going over both knees come together to brace for impact, at least his weight then is spread evenly across both his legs.
I don’t understand how people can say he violently kneed him, gravity is doing the work, the force is gonna land somewhere on Anderson, if Tkachuk had pushed his knees back out just before impact that would create a greater force on Anderson, but I don’t see any leg extension happening in the videos. It’s just a matter of science that his weight in mid air is gonna come down somewhere. If he tried to do the splits in mid air like people have suggested, he could end up cutting someone, then the tag line would read “Tkachuk maliciously slices open Brodie’s leg”
There is no good outcome in this, just that some are better than others, he landed squarely and with as little pressure in one spot or on his head and neck as possible.