It appears as though Anaheim Ducks centre Ryan Kesler won’t face any supplemental discipline for his high hit on Vancouver Canucks forward Derek Dorsett.
Five minutes into the second period of the Ducks’ 4-0 win Tuesday, in just his second game back in Vancouver since being traded in the off-season, Kesler made contact with Dorsett’s head on a check in the Anaheim zone. Dorsett was assisted off the ice and did not return to the game. Kesler was not penalized on the play.
“We all saw the replay. I thought it was going to be a five-minute call. That’s what we all thought on the bench,” Henrik Sedin told The Province. “If the refs miss it, that’s going to happen, but the league is going to have to take care of this because it’s a dirty play. It shouldn’t be a part of hockey.”
The NHL’s Department of Player safety has yet to publicly comment on the play.
“I haven’t seen it yet. All I know is I was going for the puck and I felt him hit,” Kesler told reporters after the game. “I hope he’s all right, it’s unfortunate, it’s a fast game out there. I was just going for the puck, trying to make a hockey play.”