Jared Spurgeon isn’t known for making ugly plays, but last night, in the Minnesota Wild’s series-opening game against the St. Louis Blues, he lost the plot completely.
The Wild’s were trailing 4-0 late in the third as Spurgeon fell to the ice. Pavel Buchnevich fell as well, and while they were both battling for the puck, Spurgeon used his stick to cross-check Buchnevich to the ankle.
Spurgeon, the Wild’s captain, has never had more than 20 PIMs during his 12-year-long NHL career and has been in the top spots for the Lady Byng Memorial. The play was, in other words, uncharacteristic of Spurgeon, and now, he may be punished for it.
According to ESPN’s Greg Wyshinsky, the incident is now under review by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety. Spurgeon got sent to the penalty box for a two-minute minor penalty on the play. Spurgeon’s play against Buchnevich has made experts react.
“Reminder, for uh… well… no reason at all really, that PHWA ballots which include Lady Byng voting were due prior to puck drop on the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs,” said Sportsnet’s Thomas Drance on Twitter.
