Kirill Kaprizov ejected for cross checking Drew Doughty in the face
Last night the Los Angels Kings defeated the Minnesota Wild 1-0 in a game of Western conference teams. Gabriel Vilardi scored the only goal of the game. While the scoring was low, there did prove to be a disturbing incident between Kings defenseman Drew Doughty and Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov. Both players were in the corner in the Kings end. As Kaprizov turned towards Doughty, he cross-checked him right in the face. The shaft of Kaprizov's stick hit Doughty right in the mouth. Doughty immediately fell to the ice and a match penalty was given to Kaprizov.
The referee made the right call on this play. This was no accidental cross-check. Kaprizov knew what he was doing and hurt Doughty intentionally. Kaprizov is not known as a dirty player, but his emotions got the best of him on this play. As a result of the match penalty Kaprizov was given a five-minute penalty and a game misconduct. The Department of Player Safety will review this play to determine if a fine or suspension is necessary. It would not be surprising to see Kaprizov receive some type of disciplinary action.
Kaprizov must be more responsible for his actions on the ice and more careful with his stick especially in a close game. The Wild rely on him for offense and can't afford to have him out of the lineup. He's one of the team's best players. Let's hope he learns his lesson here and an incident like this does not occur again.
| POLL | ||
Should Kirill Kaprisov be suspended for this? | ||
| Yes, he should be | 43 | 38.1 % |
| No, just fined | 32 | 28.3 % |
| No punishment needed | 38 | 33.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
