Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller, who was ejected from Sunday’s win for spitting at Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty, said in a statement posted on Twitter that the incident was “completely accidental.”
During a scrum in the first period of New York’s 5-2 win, Miller was judged to have spat in the face of Doughty and was assessed a match penalty. On Monday, Miller said he apologized to Doughty.
“I have all the respect in the world for Drew Doughty and what happened was completely accidental,” Miller tweeted. “I would never intend to do something like that on purpose, it goes against everything I am as a person and player. I felt awful about it and I am thankful Drew gave me the opportunity to apologize and explain myself in person after the game.”
All match penalties are reviewed by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and a suspension could be forthcoming. Washington Capitals forward Garnet Hathaway received a three-game ban for a spitting incident involving Anaheim Ducks defenseman Erik Gudbranson in 2019.
After the game, Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant said he did not see the incident but did not deny it occurred.
“I didn’t see nothing,” Gallant said. “Obviously, it happened, I’m not saying it didn’t happen. The kid feels bad about it, said it was an accident.”
