Latest news with #PlayerSafety
Reuters
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Golden Knights' Nicolas Roy to have hearing with NHL
May 9 - Vegas Golden Knights forward Nicolas Roy will have a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety on Friday, one day after cross-checking Trent Frederic of the Edmonton Oilers. Roy received a five-minute major and a game misconduct at 5:37 of overtime during the Golden Knights' 5-4 loss to the Oilers on Thursday in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinal series in Las Vegas. Edmonton holds a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series heading into Game 3 on Saturday in Edmonton. Roy attempted to play the puck while it was airborne but made contact with Frederic's head instead, resulting in a laceration for the Oilers forward. Frederic briefly exited the game before making a quick return to the ice. Edmonton, however, failed to capitalize on the ensuing five-minute power play. Roy, 28, has failed to record a point and owns a minus-4 rating over the first two games of this series. He totaled 31 points (15 goals, 16 assists) in 71 games during the regular season. A Stanley Cup winner with Vegas, Roy has recorded 166 points (68 goals, 98 assists) in 369 career games with the Carolina Hurricanes and Golden Knights. --Field Level Media
New York Times
06-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
‘Intimidating player': Sam Bennett becomes the villain again after unpenalized Anthony Stolarz hit
TORONTO — The first game in a series between Florida and Toronto ended with Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz in hospital for evaluation, his coach Craig Berube crying foul about the unpenalized incident that sent him there and a usual suspect likely to escape any further discipline from the NHL. Any joy the Leafs felt following Monday's 5-4 victory was overshadowed by concern for Stolarz and exasperation about a forearm to the head he received from Panthers forward Sam Bennett shortly before becoming physically ill. 'Elbow to the head,' said Berube. 'Clearly. Clear as day.' It was not clear to referees Chris Rooney and Graham Skilliter, neither of whom called a penalty when Bennett skated out from behind the Toronto goal and caught an unsuspecting Stolarz on the left side of his mask at 7:20 of the second period. The force of the blow knocked Stolarz to the ice, and the officials stopped play. He initially remained in the net and played another two-plus minutes of the game — spanning roughly nine minutes in actual time — before skating over to the Leafs bench and throwing up. Sam Bennett makes contact with the head of Anthony Stolarz who is slow to get up 🫣 — Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) May 6, 2025 That prompted backup Joseph Woll to come in for the remaining 29:46 while Stolarz was tended to in the Leafs dressing room. He was eventually wheeled out of the building on a stretcher during the third period and taken to hospital for evaluation, according to league sources. 'He's being evaluated,' said Berube. 'That's all I've got for ya.' Bennett did not speak with the media after the game. He was requested to talk, but Panthers PR said he would not be made available. To be fair, this is routine for teams in the playoffs who may worry about the NHL Department of Player Safety entering the picture, not wanting a player to say anything publicly that may incriminate himself before he has a chance to explain his actions to the league. So while frustrating from a media perspective, it was probably wise for the Panthers not to have Bennett talk after the final buzzer. As per league sources, Player Safety was looking at the incident, which is no surprise because Player Safety looks at anything that's even remotely close to crossing the line, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will rise to anything. Sources indicated early Tuesday that Bennett was unlikely to face a fine or suspension stemming from the forearm to Stolarz's head, although the decision wasn't considered final. The Leafs, internally, felt Monday night it was worthy of a suspension. Part of the discussion, perhaps, within the group at Player Safety might also be the fact Stolarz took a wrist shot to the head in the first period from Sam Reinhart, which knocked off the goalie's mask. Could that have also contributed to Stolarz's eventual exit? first save of the night for Stolarz off the chin — Omar (@TicTacTOmar) May 6, 2025 Only captain Aleksander Barkov and forward Eetu Luostarinen spoke with the media after the game among Panthers players. Stolarz is a former teammate of both and was part of the Stanley Cup-winning squad last year. Barkov said he didn't see the incident involving Bennett and Stolarz. 'I can't really say anything about it at the moment, I didn't see it, but I hope he's OK,' Barkov said of his former goalie. 'He's a big man, so hopefully he's OK.' Panthers head coach Paul Maurice was asked what he saw from his vantage point on the visitor's bench. 'Not nearly as good as the referee's vantage point,' Maurice said, pointing to the fact there was no penalty called on the play. 'He (the ref) was standing right there. He saw it. Coaches coach. You know what, hopeful for Anthony and his health. We love that guy and we hope he gets better real fast.' Maurice was asked a second time by late-arriving media at his news conference about the incident and reiterated his stance. 'The referee is standing right there when it happened,'' he said. 'You (the media) will do your thing, the league will do its thing. And I'll coach the next game.' Bennett has been down this road before. He's an expert at getting under his opponents' skin and straddling the line between right and wrong. Two years ago, he knocked Leafs forward Matthew Knies out of a second-round series in Game 2 with a concussion when he picked him up behind the net and drove him into the ice. The puck was nowhere nearby, but no supplemental discipline was handed out. Similarly, Bennett faced no punishment during the second round against Boston last year after catching Brad Marchand with a sneaky gloved punch in Game 3 and knocking the former Bruins captain out of the series for two games. 'I think he got away with a shot, but I'm not going to complain,' Marchand, now a Panthers teammate, later said of that incident. 'S— happens. That's part of playoff hockey. I've been on the other side of a lot of plays. I think that he got away with one, but that's part of the game and definitely part of playoff hockey.' In the heat of the moment, the Leafs didn't seem inclined to be quite so understanding. Knies called Bennett an 'intimidating player' after the series-opening win and expressed hope that the NHL would look closely at the incident and 'protect our players.' 'When you see your teammate go down like that, it's not good,' Woll said. 'When he goes down on the ice or when he wasn't feel well coming to the bench. These guys are trying to create a family atmosphere in here, so it's just like one of your family members.' (Photo of Anthony Stolarz: John E. Sokolowski / Imagn Images)
Reuters
14-04-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Devils F Paul Cotter suspended 2 games for check to head
April 14 - The NHL Department of Safety suspended New Jersey Devils forward Paul Cotter for two games following a hearing Monday. Cotter was assessed a match penalty Sunday in a 1-0 home loss to the New York Islanders after he checked Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech in the head. Cotter was going for a stray pass that Pelech flipped back into the Isles' offensive zone. The fourth-year forward skated through the play and let his left shoulder make significant contact with Pelech's face and head. In an explanation video, a Player Safety official said Cotter's hit satisfied both elements of the league's rule governing checks to the head: Pelech's head was the main point of contact, and the contact was avoidable. "Cotter takes a poor angle of approach, choosing an angle that causes him to cut across the front of Pelech's body, missing his core," the official said. "Cotter then raises his left leg and leans into the contact, causing his shoulder to make direct contact with Pelech's head with requisite force for supplemental discipline." As a result, Cotter will miss the final two regular-season games on New Jersey's schedule, Tuesday at the Boston Bruins and Wednesday at home against the Detroit Red Wings. He'll be eligible to return after that, as the Devils prepare to face the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. In his first season in New Jersey, Cotter has a career-high 16 goals plus six assists in 79 games. He was traded to the Devils last June after playing parts of three seasons with the Vegas Golden Knights, where he amassed 22 goals and 23 assists over 138 games. --Field Level Media
