Red Wings forward Gustav Nyquist drew a six-game suspension for spearing Jared Spurgeon of the Wild below the left eye in a Sunday night game.
After Spurgeon cross-checked Nyquist to the ice from behind near the side boards, Nyquist came up swinging, using the blade of his stick to strike the Minnesota defenceman. Spurgeon missed a few shifts for stitches in his cheek, then returned before the end of the period. Nyquist was assessed a double-minor penalty, which irked Wild coach Bruce Boudreau.
“They didn’t see it from the same angle I did,” Boudreau said of the game officials. “They didn’t think it was that bad. I said, ‘Well, watch the replay. You’ll see it deserved more than a double minor.’ ”
Nyquist said the contact wasn’t intentional. The NHL’s player safety officials disagreed.
“This is not an accidental or inadvertent high-stick delivered by a player who is swatting at a puck in mid-air or who simply fails to control his stick in traffic,” the league said in a video explaining the suspension. “Rather, as Nyquist stated in a hearing regarding this incident, he acts in retaliation for being cross-checked from behind.”
The league added that Nyquist was “completely responsible” for using his stick to deliver a dangerous blow that could have resulted in a severe injury.”
DUCKS: A ruling on the appeal of an automatic 10-game suspension handed to Anaheim forward Antoine Vermette for abuse of an on-ice official could be announced Thursday, TSN reported. Vermette was assessed a game misconduct for intentionally slashing a linesman in the leg after losing a faceoff in Tuesday night’s game against the Wild. According to TSN, the league can make the suspension longer, shorter or leave it at 10 games after weighing the appeal.
CAPITALS: Washington added insurance on the blue line by acquiring Tom Gilbert from the Los Angeles Kings for a conditional draft pick. The Kings will pick up 20 per cent of Gilbert’s $1.4-million salary and cap hit in the exchange. The Kings get a 2017 fifth-round pick if the Capitals win two or more playoff rounds and Gilbert plays in 50 per cent or more of those games. If those conditions are not met, the Kings won’t get anything but salary relief.
CANADIENS: The day after returning to Montreal as head coach, Claude Julien said his first goal would be to “create some pride” in the slumping club. “We’re going to play as a team, we’re going to play with some pace, we’re going to create some pride in all aspects of our game,” he told reporters on a conference call from Boston. “All the other adjustments system-wise, I’m going make them, but you can’t come in the middle of the season and change everything.” The Canadiens opened the season with a 13-1-1 mark but are on a 2-6-1 slide. They return to action Saturday afternoon, at home to the Winnipeg Jets.
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