The Rangers could have two suspensions on their hands following New York’s 7-4 loss to the Montreal Canadiens in Game 5 Tuesday night.
At 10:41 of the third, defenceman John Moore was given a major penalty and was ejected for a blindside, open ice hit on Canadiens forward Dale Weise that was almost identical to Brandon Prust’s hit on Derek Stepan. Weise was wobbly when he got up and went for treatment, but returned to the bench late in the period.
The NHL player safety department announced that Moore will have a hearing on Wednesday to see if further discipline is in order.
"The league will do what it has to do," Vigneault said of the hit. "John is not the type of person who would try to hurt someone, but it was a late hit."
The Canadiens avoided elimination with the win. The Rangers now lead the best-of-seven series 3-2.
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At the end of the game, Rangers’ Derek Dorsett head-butted Canadiens’ Mike Weaver during a tussle in front of the Canadiens’ net.
Asked if he had been head-butted, Weaver said: "Ah, so many things happened I don’t really know. I was more concentrating on where the puck was. I wasn’t really worried about what he was doing."
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–With files from the Canadian Press