The Department of Player Safety has been busy through the first week of the season, and it won’t stop now. St. Louis Blues forward Pavel Buchnevich will have a hearing today after an incident involving Arizona Coyotes forward Lawson Crouse.
Partway through the first period, the two came together in the corner and after the Coyotes forward delivered a cross-check, Buchnevich appeared to deliver a headbutt to the face of Crouse. The St. Louis forward was given a game misconduct and a match penalty–the latter of which comes with an automatic review from the DoPS–racking up 20 penalty minutes in one short lunge.
This isn’t the first headbutting controversy the league has dealt with in the early part of the season. Rasmus Andersson of the Calgary Flames was given a $5,000 fine for roughing when it was determined his play–which many believed included a headbutt–did not rise to the level of a suspension.
That won’t be the case here, as Buchnevich is expected to be suspended.
When is a headbutt a suspension? Let’s ask George.
“Hey, George! Is that a suspendable offense?”
“Let me see…Yep, it’s ‘heads’, so we’ll give him 5 games”
“Because you used a nickel, right?”
“Ssshhh! Company secret!”
Back to you, @Gavin!
One game but he should get 5-7 games…wait until they play again…
Why, is someone going to cross-check him twice after the whistle? Because that already happened.
Why? Because a SECOND cross check to the face wasn’t enough? I don’t agree with the headbutt, but I understand the player losing his composure based on the senseless cheap shots being taken. I say Parayko uses a higher lofted stick next time they play and fire it when he’s playing net front. Player safety department is a joke and Crouse is a douche.
Just hearing the name The Department of Player Safety you feel its not real job. By its standarts you can cross check the neck and put the poor guy into hospital if your name is Jamie Benn. You can board the same guy face first into the boards if your name is Mathieu Joseph, but NO you cant retaliate with a sucker punch cos “you cant do that”.
The head butt is a strategically questionable method of attack.