Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Tony DeAngelo was tossed from Wednesday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning after spearing forward Corey Perry. DeAngelo will have a hearing with the NHL’s department of player safety for his actions.
The play occurred late in the third period with Philadelphia trailing 4-2 as a scrum ensued in front of the Flyers net. DeAngelo caught Perry below the belt with his stick.
After players were separated on the ice, DeAngelo was assessed a five-minute major for spearing and a game misconduct for the play.
Afterward, DeAngelo told reporters Perry tried to slash the stick out of his hands before the incident.
“I wasn’t trying to give him a shot, replay probably looks a little worse than it did,” DeAngelo said, adding that he doesn’t have a history with Perry.
Flyers coach John Tortorella said he hadn’t seen a replay of the incident but said he likes that DeAngelo plays hard, even if it means getting close to the edge sometimes.
“That’s the line you walk, as far as going the edge. I want him to have his personality, to have that competitiveness. A complete of the guys I did sit, I wish that would rub off on them,” Tortorella said. “Again, I haven’t seen it but I think he may have crossed the line judging from what some of the other guys said. You got to be careful.”
DeAngelo has been disciplined before by the Department of Player Safety receiving a three-game suspension in 2017 for physical assault of a referee while he was with the Arizona Coyotes.