Jared Spurgeon called out by his own coach after a dumb penalty

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Joshua Deeds
May 4, 2022 (11:02)

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The NHL Department of Player Safety wasn't the only people upset with Jared Spurgeon after his dangerous cross check against Pavel Buchnevich. Wild Head Coach Dean Evason was also upset by it and he called out the Wild's Captain after his penalty.

We were frustrated last night. We took some bad penalties. That's a bad penalty. He knows it. When Jared Spurgeon does something like that, it means your group is off-kilter a little bit. So they'll rein it back in and he'll be the guy to do it.

It was an exceptionally dirty play, as two teams have shown some bad blood previously, this contest was no different. The Winter Classic showed the capabilities of what this first-round match-up would end up like.

In a game that featured 18 penalties and one penalty shot, the Blues spent 25 minutes 3 seconds either on the power play, on the penalty kill, or engaged in 4-on-4 play because of coincidental minors

It is understandable that playoff hockey, is far more competitive, and more runs are taken against the stars of each team, to gain an advantage. So when, Spurgeon cross-checked Buchnevich in the ankles, which could've seriously injured the Blues forward, the NHL DoPS stepped in.

Minnesota's Jared Spurgeon has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for Cross-checking St. Louis' Pavel Buchnevich.

This was predicted since, Spurgeon is an "atypical" offender, but is trying to break someone's ankles, atypical?

The documentation of dirty hits and penalties has been accumulated by the internet and the Blues aren't blame-free, given Faulk's punch on Eriksson-Ek.

Accountability begins at the top, so where is Evason's for not reining in Spurgeon? Also, Berube is not guilt-free either.