The Edmonton Oilers picked up a win against the New York Islanders, but along the way, there was some unnecessary roughness from Leon Draisaitl.
A dangerous trip from Draisaitl
At the 9:54 mark of the second period, Draisaitl was assessed a minor penalty for tripping Bo Horvat. However, it wasn’t the standard run-of-the-mill tripping with a stick in the skates. It was a cross-check to the back of Horvat’s knees.
The NHL Department of Player Safety has announced that Draisaitl has been fined $5,000 for this play, which is the maximum allowable amount under the NHL’s CBA.
No precedence for suspension, yet
It’s not very common to see a cross-check to the back of the legs as an NHL play, and the NHL doesn’t seem to want to make this play a black-and-white call. It can definitely be argued that a cross-check to the back of one’s legs is an intent to injure, which would make the play suspendable. Others may look at it as unnecessary roughness but not worthy of said intent-to-injure label.
Regardless, Draisaitl being assessed the $5,000 fine is as far as the NHL will go for now, and as large of a fine the CBA permits.
