Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo will be suspended for one game for his actions late in a Game 4 loss to the Edmonton Oilers according to a release from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety.
The incident happened late in Game 4, with the Golden Knights trailing 4-1 and their goaltender pulled for an extra attacker. Oilers star forward Leon Draisaitl was skating into the Golden Knights zone with the puck and back-handed it toward the yawning cage. He barely missed, but a few seconds after releasing the puck, Pietrangelo continued toward him and slashed him on the forearm.
It was not just a small slash on the wrist. It was a blatantly obvious attempt to injure an opponent with a two-handed swing akin to a lumberjack trying to split a block of wood into two pieces with a rusted hatchet. The puck was long gone, the play around Draisaitl was over, and for all Pietrangelo knew, the puck could have already been in the Golden Knights’ net.
Pietrangelo was assessed a five-minute major penalty for slashing and a game misconduct. The Department of Player Safety took a closer look at the incident today and held a hearing this morning with the Golden Knights defenseman. It was determined that a one-game ban was necessary for such a reckless and needless slash of an unsuspecting opponent.
The Golden Knights will now be without their top defender as they look to take a series lead in Game 5. The two teams have traded blowout victories in this series, with the teams now locked up at two wins apiece. No one played more minutes on the Golden Knights than Pietrangelo in Game 4, as he led the way with 23:54 so he will be sorely missed.
The Oilers will be without a top defender of their own as Darnell Nurse was also handed a one-game suspension for instigating a fight in the final five minutes of the contest. Nurse ranks first among Oilers defensemen in ice time in the playoffs, averaging 23:24 per game in the playoffs so far.
Both teams will have their defensive depth tested on Friday night when they face off in Game 5 in Vegas.
Recognition of the need for violence to extend the viewing audience. Backwards …but not surprising.
To be appropriate, it should have been “for the duration of the series” imo.
There’s a LOT of problems w/Alex’s chop.. Frustrated or not, players now feel too ‘valuable’ to handle their angst towards a team/player in a fight 1 v1 like years past, and that’s led to overhanded chops, hacks, and spears all over the ice now by STAR players. If a ‘star’ player can behave that way…,
Whatevs, this is the new era.. It’s rough not seeing guys handle their own business for the sake of these $40 million dollar deals, etc..
Alex, you got lucky bubby.. shoulda been 2-3.
^good take
made worse by the fact this sets a precedent. don’t fight in the last 5 mins of a blowout, just two hand a guy. the punishment is the same
This^
Agree with both comments above. Not a good look by the “DOP(e)S,” again.
Bennet takes 14 minutes at the end of the game for going to town on McCabe and gets nothing. I’m I missing something?
Sorry, am I missing something?
@TeamDFD—Yes, but we’re not altogether sure what that “something” is. And, we definitely don’t want to steer you toward the NHL offices for an answer, as we like you too much. I’d say send a short, one line note to Bettman & Co. — “sudo reboot now”.
This suspension seems light, with the clear intent intent to injure.
The zebras have let a lot of stick infractions go in the current playoffs. Seems now the NHL is backing (or maybe even behind) those non calls.
I see this getting worse before it gets better.
Campbell and the Peterborough Mafia strike (out) again.
Just wait until they take fighting out of the game.
Once again Parros makes a terrible decision when comes to dishing out discipline for a vicious-intentional-unnecessary slash. The suspension should’ve been no less than the rest of the series if not for the remainder of the playoffs.
Rest of playoffs suspensions are reserved for anyone who uses naughty language