Winnipeg Jets’ Mark Scheifele won’t be on the ice for four games as he has been suspended by the NHL. The NHL Department of Player Safety announced his suspension Thursday, June 3. Here are the details behind why Scheifele was suspended.
Mark Scheifele’s Suspension
Scheifele was suspended after delivering a hard hit to Montreal Canadiens forward Jake Evans. This occured in the last few minutes of Game 1 between the Jets and Canadiens during their Stanley Cup Playoff match.
Evans took the painful hit after scoring an empty net goal. The impact of the hit sent Evans flying, forcing the NHL forward to leave the ice on a stretcher.
During the game, Scheifele was only given a five-minute major penalty for charging, based on how severe the hit was and because he was not playing the puck. In addition, he was cited with a game misconduct.
Reactions to Scheifele’s Hit and What’s Next for the Jets and Canadiens
It is clear that many of his teammates are not pleased with Scheifele’s actions. They see that there is no excuse for his unreasonable actions. The violent hit should have never happened, no matter what.
Once Scheifele’s four-game suspension is over, he probably won’t be getting too many welcome backs. It may be difficult for him to return to the ice with a handful of teammates, coaches and opponents who will definitely be pretty angry by the incident.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first big suspension given in the NHL during this postseason. The Colorado Avalanche have been in the hot seat, as well. Nazem Kadri was slapped with an eight-game ban after illegal check on St. Louis Blues’ Justin Faulk.
For the Jets, this suspension only ignited flames in an already bitter situation. The Jets suffered a 5-3 defeat against the Canadiens during that game, as well.
In addition, the Jets don’t have much time to rest. Game 2 kicks off tonight (Friday, June 4) and you can only be certain that this game will be even more heated than the first. Both teams will be pretty fired up, which will certainly build up the intensity for Game 2. However, it is essential that both teams, especially the Jets, stay at bay from any more suspensions.
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