The Deadliest Season (1977)

Synopsis
The title of the made-for-TV The Deadliest Season obscures the fact that this is a film about hockey. Michael Moriarty stars as a popular defenseman whose take-no-prisoners approach to the game results in the serious--and ultimately fatal--injury of another player. Moriarty is outwardly blase about the whole affair, chalking it off to the fortunes of hockey. But an equally ruthless DA charges Moriarty with aggravated assault with a "deadly weapon". Of historical interest is the appearance of Meryl Streep as Moriarty's wife--billed fifth in her first-ever film appearance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide