The NHL suspended Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo one game for his very obvious slash on Leon Draisaitl at the end of Game 4.
That means the Golden Knights will be without their top option on the blue line for Game 5.
With under two minutes remaining in the Edmonton Oilers’ win over the Golden Knights on Wednesday, Draisaitl missed a shot on the empty net, and Pietrangelo went out of his way to hack him on the wrists with a two-handed slash. At the time, Pietrangelo was given a major penalty for slashing and a game misconduct.
Here’s a look at what happened:
The NHL Department of Player Safety announced the suspension on Thursday night, and released a video explaining its ruling.
“In this case, the puck has been gone some time before Pietrangelo chooses to ignore the play, raises his stick, and delivers a slash to a vulnerable area of his opponent with sufficient force for supplemental discipline,” the NHL said in its explanation.
There was some speculation that Pietrangelo could be suspended for more than one game, but the NHL also mentioned his clean record over his 15-year career.
Through nine playoff games, Pietrangelo has six assists been used on Vegas’ top penalty killing unit. Expect to see Shea Theodore and Brayden McNabb getting a bigger workload in Pietrangelo’s absence.
The Oilers will be without one of their best defenseman in Game 6, too. Darnell Nurse was automatically suspended for a game after instigating a fight with Golden Knights defenseman Nic Hague in the final five minutes of the contest.
