Nikita Zadorov’s Saturday was already awful when he was ejected from his team’s game against the Detroit Red Wings for a reckless hit on Lucas Raymond.
Zadorov hit Raymond in the head while attempting to check the quick Detroit forward in the neutral zone and was given a match penalty by the officials, who determined he willfully sought to harm Raymond.
In its announcement of the disciplinary inquiry, the NHL stated that Zadorov had been flagged for violating the unlawful check-to-head rule.
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Raymond went to the Red Wings’ room for an evaluation, but then returned.
According to the NHL rule book, each player who receives a match penalty is subject to additional disciplinary investigation.
Rule 21, which governs match penalties in general, states: “In addition to the match penalty, the player shall be automatically suspended from further competition until the commissioner has ruled on the issue.”
In this case, the commissioner is represented by the Department of Player Safety, which is led by former player George Parros.
“However, the department of player safety retains the right to make adjustments to the infraction upon review,” the NHL said in a statement.
Brendan Dillon, a Winnipeg Jets defenceman, was suspended for three games earlier this week after receiving a match penalty for an illegal check to the head during a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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Walman scores on an overtime penalty shot, and the Red Wings defeat the Canucks 4-3.
DETROIT (AP) – Jake Walman converted a penalty shot 23 seconds into overtime to help the Detroit Red Wings defeat the Vancouver Canucks 4-3 on Saturday.
Walman was granted the penalty shot after Quinn Hughes slashed him during a breakaway. He became the fourth defenseman in NHL history to score on an overtime penalty shot, behind Ben Hutton, Andy Greene, and Frantisek Kaberle.
Detroit trailed 3-1 after two periods, but Lucas Raymond, Daniel Sprong, and Michael Rasmussen all scored. Patrick Kane had an assist in his 1,200th career game, while Alex Lyon made 28 saves.
The Canucks’ Filip Hronek and Elias Pettersson both scored once and assisted twice. Nils Hoglander also scored, and Casey DeSmith recorded 24 saves.
Nikita Zadorov, a Canucks defenseman, was issued a match penalty and a game misconduct during the second period for striking Raymond in the head.
Capitals 3, Bruins 0
BOSTON (AP)— T.J. Oshie scored his 299th career goal, Charlie Lindgren saved 18 shots, and Washington ended its six-game losing run.
Alex Ovechkin scored his 57th career empty-net goal with 27 seconds left, surpassing Wayne Gretzky for the most in NHL history.
Dylan Strome also scored for the Capitals, who won their first game since defeating St. Louis 5-2 on January 18. This was Lindgren’s third shutout of the season.
Jeremy Swayman stopped 25 shots for the Bruins, who have lost three of their previous four home games.
Blues 3, Sabres 1.
Buffalo, New York (AP) Joel Hofer stopped 33 shots, Jake Neighours scored twice, and St. Louis took the win on the road.
Jordan Kyrou also scored for St. Louis, which played its first game since losing 1-0 to Columbus on January 30.
Kyle Okposo scored Buffalo’s only goal after being the last Sabres player to touch the puck before Blues defenseman Matthew Kessel bounced his clearing effort off teammate Oskar Sundqvist’s skate and into the net.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 23 shots and dropped to 6-5 in his last 11 appearances, while allowing 19 goals.
Stars 3, Canadiens 2.
MONTREAL (AP) – Tyler Seguin scored twice, while Matt Duchene added two assists to help the Stars win.
Thomas Harley also scored, and Dallas improved to 8-2-1 in its previous 11 games. Mason Marchment tallied two assists, and Jake Oettinger made 18 saves.
Nick Suzuki scored and assisted for Montreal, which had won two of three. Juraj Slafkovsky also scored, Mike Matheson assisted twice, and Cole Caufield’s point streak reached 11 games, a career record.
Sam Montembeault, the Canadiens’ goaltender, stopped 35 shots in his second consecutive start.
Flames 5, Islanders 2.
NEW YORK (AP)— MacKenzie Weegar scored his first career hat trick, and Calgary extended its season-high winning streak to four games.
Jonathan Huberdeau and Blake Coleman also scored for the Flames. Jacob Markstrom recorded 35 saves and an assist in the third game of a four-game road trip.
Semyon Varlamov made 19 saves in his 600th NHL game, but the Islanders’ two-game winning streak ended. Brock Nelson and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored for New York.