Pittsburgh Penguins veteran center Evgeni Malkin received 17 penalty minutes, including a game misconduct, for slashing Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin.
Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin received a major penalty and game misconduct for slashing Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin in the head.
Early in the second period in Thursday's game between the Penguins and Sabres, Malkin and Dahlin got tangled beside Buffalo goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. They began wrestling, and Dahlin landed a heavy cross-check on Malkin.
The Penguins veteran then turned to the Sabres captain and swung his stick, hitting Dahlin in the head.
Referee Furman South put his arm up immediately to call the penalty on Malkin's actions, while Dahlin held his face.
If the referee felt Malkin was attempting to or deliberately injured Dahlin, he could have received a match penalty instead of a game misconduct. But the NHL Department of Player Safety can still hand out supplementary discipline if it determines it's necessary.
Pittsburgh right winger Justin Brazeau served the high-sticking major for Malkin. The 39-year-old Russian was also slapped with a two-minute minor penalty for cross-checking, adding to a total of 17 penalty minutes on the play.
That brings Malkin's season total in penalty minutes to 51 in his 46th game of the season. With that, he has 13 goals and 34 assists for 47 points with a plus-13 rating.
Sabres center Josh Norris capitalized on Malkin's penalty with a power-play goal to give Buffalo a 2-1 lead. That was Norris' ninth goal of the year, assisted by Josh Doan and Bowen Byram.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.