Carson Soucy is out for a game for his cross-check of Connor McDavid at the end of the Canucks' Game 3 win on Sunday
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Vancouver Canucks defenceman Carson Soucy has been suspended one game by the NHL for an end-of-game cross-check to the face of Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid.
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In the midst of a volatile finish to Game 3 Sunday in Edmonton, Soucy found himself tangled up with McDavid as the horn sounded to end the game, a 4-3 victory for Soucy’s Canucks.
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Soucy gave McDavid a shove and the Oilers forward turned around and gave Soucy a wicked two-handed slash to the leg. Soucy gave McDavid a whack back and then it looked like Soucy was going to give McDavid a cross-check to the chest … except Nikita Zadorov showed up and hit McDavid in the back, knocking him forward so Soucy’s stick caught McDavid on the chin instead.
It was an ugly scene. McDavid bounced up and the fracas carried on for a few more moments. As McDavid left the ice, he confronted a referee and clearly barked about something, presumably the stick to the face.
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Soucy was assessed a minor penalty for cross-checking.
Before the Canucks practised Monday afternoon in Edmonton, Soucy was called to a hearing by the NHL’s player safety department for possible supplementary discipline.
Soucy told reporters after practice that the hearing lasted only a few minutes, and that he and the Canucks made their case.
Not long afterwards, the NHL announced that Soucy would sit out Game 4.
In the video explaining their ruling, the NHL acknowledged Soucy’s point that Zadorov’s hit changed McDavid’s head position, but said it still didn’t alter their position that Soucy’s cross-check merited supplemental discipline.
“Soucy chooses to raise his stick to an unacceptably high level,” the league’s video says. ”
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Soucy called what happened unfortunate.
“There wasn’t any intent to get up a player there that high,” he said. He added he apologized on the ice to McDavid right after.
McDavid told reporters earlier he felt fine and Soucy said he was glad to hear that.
Soucy has been suspended once before, while playing for the Minnesota Wild in 2021 in a game against the Arizona Coyotes. Oddly enough, the foul was on Conor Garland, who was then playing for the Coyotes.
Soucy was given a five-minute major for charging and then suspended for one game.
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For his part, McDavid declined to comment on the incident specifically, but said he was enjoying the intense way the Canucks play.
“They have big, physical defencemen who play the game hard. It’s fun to be a part of,” he said.
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The hearing was held by phone, meaning any resulting suspension could be as short as one game. In-person hearings are for actions that might lead to suspensions of six games or more.
In determining a suspension, the NHL looks at five factors:
• The league makes it clear that players are responsible for the consequences of their actions, so what was the nature of the conduct in question? Was the act under review in violation of the rules? Was it intentional or reckless? Was there excessive or unnecessary force?
• Did the fouled player suffer an injury?
• Has the player who committed the foul been suspended before? If a player has been suspended in the previous 18 months, they are considered a repeat offender and are likely to face a heavier suspension than if it was the first time (or they haven’t been suspended in the last 18 months, anyway).
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• What was happening in the game when the incident occurred? Is it late in the game? Is the score lopsided? Did something happen in the game before the incident occurred, either immediately or earlier in the game?
• Any other factors that might be necessary to assess the incident.
Meanwhile, the NHL announced that Zadorov had been fined $5,000 for his role in the incident.
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2024-05-13 21:45:00Z
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