DeAngelo hit with suspension for spearing Perry below the belt originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Tony DeAngelo won’t see the ice for the final two games of the Flyers’ road trip.
He was hit with a two-game suspension from the NHL Department of Player Safety for inexcusably spearing Lightning forward Corey Perry below the belt Tuesday night. DeAngelo lost his cool after a whistle late in the third period of the Flyers’ 5-2 loss to Tampa Bay at Amalie Arena.
DeAngelo had his stick slashed by Perry prior to the spearing, but the 27-year-old defenseman has to know he can’t retaliate in that manner. His action looked inexplicable on video and he’ll now forfeit $54,054.06, which goes to the players’ emergency assistance fund.
Here were the major points in Wednesday’s review of DeAngelo’s action by the NHL Department of Player Safety:
“It is important to note that DeAngelo does not engage with Perry in any way prior to spearing him, choosing to deliver this strike while Perry is not looking at him. What causes this play to rise to the level of a suspension is the premeditated nature of the foul against an unsuspecting opponent well after the whistle, the area of the body where the spear was delivered and the force of the blow.”
Tuesday night was the Flyers’ first game of a challenging three-game road swing. They visit the Hurricanes on Thursday (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP) and the Penguins on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET/ABC).
DeAngelo will have to watch as the Flyers likely return to a more traditional lineup of 12 forwards and six defensemen. They had played the last three games with 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
Unless the Flyers make a roster move, Kieffer Bellows will draw into the lineup at forward.
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