The Vegas Golden Knights will have another defenseman to replace in Thursday’s Game 6 against the Anaheim Ducks. The NHL Department of Player Safety announced that Brayden McNabb has been suspended one game for his hit on Ducks forward Ryan Poehling in Game 5. The incident occurred in the first period, when McNabb delivered a crushing hit to Poehling while he wasn’t looking. McNabb was assessed a game misconduct for interference, while Poehling’s night was brought to an early end.
Poehling is expected to be out of the Ducks’ lineup indefinitely, though head coach Joel Quenneville wouldn’t specify an injury or timeline to Zac Cavanagh of The Sporting Tribune. Poehling took an exciting step forward on the Ducks’ third line this season. He scored a career-high 36 points in 75 regular-season games and has since added four goals and five points in 11 playoff games. Those marks helped him earn a career-high 15:04 in average ice time in his first season in Anaheim. The Ducks will need to replace a notable part of their lineup as they approach potential elimination in Game 6.
Vegas will have a tough hole to fill as well. They are already without Jeremy Lauzon, who was the only Golden Knights defenseman to record more hits (251) than McNabb (110) this season. Without either defender, the Golden Knights will be without a substantial amount of their physical presence. That will put more weight on forwards Keegan Kolesar and Brett Howden, as well as defender Kaedan Korczak, to make their minutes felt while Vegas’ scorers rest up.
This is exactly what McAvoy would have got if the Bruins weren’t eliminated. This guy put a man possibly out for the rest of the Playoffs and got 1 stinking game for hitting a completely defenseless person while he was nowhere near the puck. This is a sad league at times. The intensity is supposed to go up in the Playoffs but it’s getting ridiculous and the league is choosing to not hold people accountable for their actions. Might be the time to bring up the old offender is out for the same amount of time as the victim theory again. Maybe that will fix it.
Pretty sure he got more than one game?
link to prohockeyrumors.com
I’m not for defenseless people being hit, especially without possession. We may see the fighter return to hockey soon enough at this rate.
I’m actually all for suspensions being as lengthy as the injury but I dont know if that will actually mitigate the problem.
Why reading is a skill. I said this what McAvoy WOULD have got if the Bruins weren’t eliminated. 6 games at the beginning of a season is no punishment compared to what 6 PLAYOFF games would have been. NHL doesn’t want it’s product watered down for the Playoffs. Even though that’s exactly what’s needed.
How many regular season games are worth a playoff game? Id say all 82 😂
Yes, I glossed over your comment that’s on me.
We’re better than the NFL and NBA; but in retrospect that doesn’t mean much these days.
unfortunately no, he got 5 and a game misconduct plus the 1 game suspension, so he’s eligible fir a potential game 7 or game 1 of the WCF
6 regular season games are worth 6/82 of the offender’s salary which in case of McAvoy amounts to quite a lot. In the playoffs, players receive far less, so 6 playoff games isn’t much of a punishment.
At least for the player it isn’t.
This is typical for a dirty player like McNabb who ended the career of an Avalanche 1st round pick…..with a dirty hit, just like this one.
You must be drunk Mcnabb is not a dirty player he just hits hard Open your eyes boy
McNabb has been notorious for big, nasty borderline hits. He finally connects, gets punished by refs and league officials, and his fans cry fowl. Is it really that hard to be objective?
We like physical play but those that habitually line cross are quite well known in the league. Did he butt end a guy in the face? No? Is he Trouba? Also no. Dirty is never the right word unless you’re Avery or slew footing. The Bennetts, the Radkos, are all the type of players were raised to hate but man we’d by lying if we said we didn’t want them on our team.
Just because a Poehling was hurt, Doesn’t mean that McNabb did anything against the rules, And, Especially dirty.
Go see an eye doctor. You don’t drive do you? If so where do you live so I can stay home. Just a town will do.
Poehling was no where near the play, it might’ve been a more late hit than Torres on Hossa in 2012. it was so late the hit wasn’t even on the broadcast camera view. a player who shouldn’t be expecting contact let alone getting plastered against the glass with that amount of force with no way to brace for the hit and being in a vulnerable spot, and injured out of the playoffs as a result, McNabb is really lucky he didn’t get more