Photo: Raleigh News and Observer
According to Chris Kuc of the Athletic, neither Carolina Hurricanes forward Michael Ferland nor defenseman Dougie Hamilton will receive supplemental discipline for their hits on Washington Capitals centers Nic Dowd and Evgeny Kuznetsov, respectively. Ferland was given a match penalty after it appeared that he hit Dowd in the head. Hamilton was given a minor penalty for elbowing.
On Dougie Hamilton elbow to Evgeny Kuznetsov, there wasn’t enough force to warrant supplemental discipline.
And Micheal Ferland did take a good angle and hit through Nic Dowd’s body without head contact.
Looked a lot worse in real time than on replay. #ALLCAPS#TakeWarning— Chris Kuc (@ChrisKuc) April 14, 2019
So far in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, only Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov has been suspended (for one game) for boarding Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Markus Nutivaara, though Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri received an offer for an in-person hearing for cross-checking Boston Bruins forward Jake DeBrusk on Sunday.
Neither Ferland nor Hamilton have been suspended in their NHL careers. Ferland has not gotten on the scoresheet yet this series and has posted a -1 rating. Hamilton has posted two assists and a +1 rating through two games for the Hurricanes.
Ferland on the hit on Dowd: “I thought it was a clean hit and I don’t agree with the call. I don’t think I deserve to be suspended. I take pride in my game, in being a clean hitter. I never want to hurt anybody.”
— Chip Alexander (@ice_chip) April 13, 2019
Dowd and Kuznetsov both returned to Game 2 for the Capitals. Kuznetsov had the primary assist on defenseman Brooks Orpik’s overtime winner on Saturday.
The Capitals lead the best-of-seven series 2-0. The series will shift to PNC Arena for Game 3 on Monday night (7:00 PM ET, NBC Sports Washington, CNBC).
You can find the hits below:
#TakeWarning ‘s Micheal Ferland received a match penalty for this hit. Do you think he’ll be suspended? pic.twitter.com/04b67VvMbV
— SiriusXM NHL Network Radio (@SiriusXMNHL) April 13, 2019
Dougie Hamilton with the flying elbow pic.twitter.com/acl8hpaMdt
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) April 13, 2019
By Harrison Brown
To me, Hamilton’s intentional elbow to the head is exactly what the league is saying they want to eliminate. Gauging force of impact is impossible. NBC was saying they’d like to see 10 games, but….
Hamilton elbow was a cheapo for sure. It will bring retaliation in next game. Thankfully Kuzy not injured badly. The Ferland play: He went for that drill-the-unsuspecting-opponent crush. Ferland gets zero games for the hit. Tom Wilson in a similar situation? Five games minimum suspension. Carolina “gets it” that their doomed in the series unless they can unhinge the Caps by some sort of brutality application. I look for multiple Cheapos against Caps’ goaltender next 2 games