The NHL suspended New York Rangers defenceman John Moore two games for his hit on Montreal Canadiens forward Dale Weise in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final.
Midway through the third period of a 7-4 Canadiens’ win Tuesday, Moore connected on an open-ice hit, making contact with the head of an unsuspecting Weise. Moore was assessed a match penalty on the play.
Weise’s helmet flew off at impact. He appeared wobbly on the ice after the hit but eventually returned to the bench after being assessed by medical staff.
The league’s department of player safety made the decision to suspend Moore after a disciplinary hearing Wednesday afternoon.
Moore, who has just 40 penalty minutes in his 173-game NHL career, had never been suspended in his pro career prior to this incident.
“John is not the type of person who would try to hurt someone,” Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault said following the game.
After reviewing the hit on Wednesday, Vigneault said he believed the penalty was warranted but supplementary disciple was not.
“By league standards — and I know the league standard very well because of the [Aaron Rome hit on Nathan Horton] a couple years ago in the Boston series against my former team in Vancouver — and it doesn’t meet the league standard as far as a late hit,” Vigneault told reporters. “It was a hit that Johnny caught him a little high in the chest. Player didn’t see it coming. It probably warrants the penalty that was given on the ice. Other than that, I don’t see what else it could warrant, but I’ve been surprised before.”
The play was similar to one from Game 3 in which Brandon Prust of the Habs nailed Derek Stepan with a blindside hit that left the Rangers forward with a broken jaw. Prust, who wasn’t penalized on the play, was handed a two-game suspension by the league.
Also in this series, Rangers forward Daniel Carcillo was suspended 10 games for abuse of an official in an altercation that stemmed from Prust’s hit on Stepan.
The Rangers lead the series 3-2 and look to close it out in Game 6 Thursday at Madison Square Garden.
