The NHL’s Department of Player Safety is reviewing a crosscheck by Minnesota Wild captain Jared Spurgeon to the ankle of St. Louis Blues winger Pavel Buchnevich, according to ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski.
Late in Monday’s game with St. Louis leading 4-0, Spurgeon and Buchnevich fell to the ice while battling for the puck. Spurgeon raised his stick and delivered a cross-check to Buchnevich’s left leg.
Buchnevich was not injured on the play. Still, that doesn’t mean Spurgeon should be off the hook. Player Safety often looks at intent when determining if the act was suspendable. In this case, there was no play on the puck. This was nothing close to a hockey play. The cross-check was delivered purely with the intent to injure an opposing player.
A non-hockey play, away from the puck, with intent to injure? We’d love to see the league send a message with a one-game suspension.
We’re expecting nothing more than a fine.
