Montreal Canadiens defenceman Kaiden Guhle made a silly mistake during last night's game against the Philadelphia Flyers, letting his emotions get the best of him. A game that Montreal would win 4-1, extending the Flyers losing streak to three games as they cling onto the final Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference.
Well known agitator Travis Konecny laid a hit on the Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky close to the Flyers bench. The pair separated offering a few chirps as they skated away. While going by the Montreal bench Konecny received a slash to his hand from Guhle who was on the sitting on the bench at the time.
Two refs were in the sight line of the play but amazingly no penalty was called. The NHL Department of player safety had time to review the play and elected to offer Guhle a hearing for this slash.
The 22 year old Guhle, will be suspended for 1 game for slashing.
The NHL tries to avoid any contact between players on the bench and others during active play. Sometimes we will see some pushing and shoving with the rare punches thrown but what Montreal's sophomore defenceman did was an oddity.
Guhle is having himself another strong season, establishing himself as a top pairing defenceman in Montreal. In 68 games this season, he has scored 6 goals and 21 points while averaging 21:07 in ice time.
POLL | ||
Do you agree with the decision by the NHL's Department of Player Safety? | ||
Yes, an adequate punishment | 33 | 41.8 % |
No, was too harsh | 19 | 24.1 % |
No, another disappointing decision of many by them | 27 | 34.2 % |
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