Capitals’ Kuznetsov suspended one game for high-sticking Canucks’ Burroughs
The Washington Capitals will be facing the Buffalo Sabres and their young defensemen will be skating with the team.
Captain Alex Ovechkin was involved in a high-sticking incident with Buffalo’s Josh Gorges, who missed the game against the Buffalo Sabres due to illness. In fact, Washington’s captain was involved in multiple high-sticking incidents with opposing players during the season.
On Saturday, the Capitals are scheduled to face Buffalo at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday Night. Kuznetsov will be suspended for the game if he is caught by the league’s Department of Player Safety.
The NHL’s Department of Player Safety has been monitoring the games of the Caps for the past two weeks because they have been involved in multiple high-sticking and high-hitting incidents.
The Capitals have also been involved in a high-sticking incident with the Ottawa Senators. The Senators called timeout when the Capitals got up to take a puck. Senators’ captain Craig Anderson went for the puck and accidentally hit Ovechkin in the backside of the neck, which led to the Capitals player being suspended one game for “abusive behavior”.
After the incident in Ottawa, the Capitals’ star scored against the Washington Capitals from behind the goal line to tie the contest. Washington needed to do a video review of the goal, which showed that Anderson made an extremely aggressive hit in the back of the player’s neck. The player was able to recover from the injury and return to the net.
The Capitals are the first team to be suspended by the NHL in 2019.
In the video review, Ovechkin can be heard saying, “Fuck those bastards! I’ll have my suspension, I’ll bring it on my own damn self.” During the ensuing stoppage, Ovechkin can be heard saying, “I’m going to be fucking suspended!” and “Fuck you. Fuck you.”
The Caps have a history of high-sticking and high-hitting with the league. The NHL has fined the Capitals three times, including for high-sticking and high-hitting during the 2017-18 season, and suspended Ovechkin in the 2017 Stanley Cup