Vegas Golden Knights defenceman Alex Pietrangelo has been suspended one game for his slash to the arm of Edmonton Oilers superstar Leon Draisaitl in Game 4.
The NHL’s department of player safety announced the suspension on Thursday.
In making their decision, the NHL's department of player safety noted that Pietrangelo has never been fined or suspended previously in his career.
"Significantly after the shot is released and disregarding the continuation of the play, Pietrangelo raises his stick with both hands and chops down with force on Draisaitl's forearm," the department of player safety said in a video statement. "It is important to note that stick fouls on an opponent playing the puck are common and can usually be sufficiently penalized by the on-ice officials. In this case, the puck has been gone for some time before Pietrangelo chooses to ignore the play, raise his stick and deliver a slash to a vulnerable area of his opponent with sufficient force for supplemental discipline."
Pietrangelo was given a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for the aggressive slash in the third period of the game the Oilers ultimately won, 4-1, to even their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinals series at 2-2.
After Drasaitl missed a chance at scoring in an empty Vegas net, Pietrangelo skated across the ice, raised his stick over his shoulder and brought it down hard on Drasaitl's arm. Drasaitl was slow to get up and Oilers captain Connor McDavid went after the big defenceman.
Officials reviewed the play and ejected Pietrangelo from the game.
"You'd like to see it reviewed for sure, I would like to see it suspended," McDavid said after the game. "It's as intent to injure as you can get. … That's not a hockey play."
With the score out of reach, Game 4 descended into a penalty-filled affair, with the teams combining for 111 penalty minutes after the dust settled.
Game 5 is set for Friday night on Sportsnet and SN NOW, starting at 8 p.m. MT / 10 p.m. ET.
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