Pittsburgh Penguins star forward Evgeni Malkin was ejected in last night’s tilt between the Penguins and Washington Capitals.
Malkin was ejected after a questionable hit on Capitals’ forward T.J. Oshie. The hit came early into the third period, as the Penguins were on the Power Play.
The controversial hit has stirred up discussion on social media. In the video, Oshie appears to skate right into Malkin as he gets his shoulder up. It looked like Malkin was preparing for a hit by Oshie that never came.
In the slowed down version of the replay, you can see Malkin notice Oshie from the corner of his eye. Malkin then prepares for impact and his shoulder catches Oshie’s head.
Oshie skated after Malkin to defend on the Penalty Kill and Malkin wasn’t skating at full tilt. He was gliding into the offensive zone when the hit occurred.
Oshie would return and score the eventual game-winner after a dish from Jon Carlson. Oshie’s comments after the game about the hit were interesting.
Oshie on Malkin's hit: "He maybe thought I was coming to hit him and so he threw the reverse shoulder out there, which I try to do that all the time. I did it at least once tonight. I just wasn't expecting it being on the PK. You don't typically go for hits."#Capitals
— Chris Kuc (@ChrisKuc) November 8, 2018
He may have thought Malkin was throwing the reverse shoulder, something Oshie has done before and something he even admits to doing in last night’s game.
While Oshie seemed to be at peace with the incident, Capitals’ coach Todd Reirden wasn’t so forgiving.
Capitals coach Todd Reirden on Evgeni Malkin's hit on T.J. Oshie: "Those are things we're trying to remove from the game. Of all teams, we know that from dealing with it on the other end."
— Chris Kuc (@ChrisKuc) November 8, 2018
The NHL Player Safety account on Twitter has not mentioned if they will be looking into the hit, so it isn’t known if a possible suspension is looming for Malkin.
Malkin has not been suspended in the NHL before, so if he does get suspended it will certainly set a precedent for star players without a history.
What do you think? Was Malkin preparing for contact and the shoulder/elbow was accidental? Or did Malkin have full intent with the play?
The Penguins don’t play until the 10th of November against the Arizona Coyotes, which means suspensions/fines could easily be handed out before their next game.
