The NHL suspended Montreal Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle for one game on Friday for slashing an opponent from the bench during a game.
The incident occurred during Wednesday’s 4-1 home win over the Philadelphia Flyers. Travis Konecny of the Flyers checked the Canadiens’ Juraj Slafkovsky, and they got tangled up near the Philadelphia bench.
As they passed the Montreal bench to return to the action, Guhle reached over the boards and slashed Konecny in the chest with his stick.
Players not on the ice aren’t allowed to interfere with players who are in the game, leading to the decision from the NHL Department of Player Safety.
“On this play, Konecny is skating back towards the puck and there is no reason for him to expect or be in any way prepared for an engagement from the Canadiens’ bench,” a Department of Player Safety official said in an explanation video.
Guhle, 22, will be forced to miss Saturday’s home game against the Carolina Hurricanes. It is the first discipline of his two-season NHL career.
Guhle has amassed five points in his last three games (one goal, four assists) and totaled six goals and 15 assists across 68 games this season.
–Field Level Media