Photo credit: Eric Hartline

On Tuesday night, Washington Capitals rookie forward Tom Wilson delivered a crushing hit on Philadelphia Flyers forward Brayden Schenn. Wilson was given a five-minute major for charging, a five-minute major for fighting, and a game misconduct. Schenn needed help leaving the ice and did not return to the game.

George McPhee and Adam Oates have made several protestations that it was a clean hit, and the Department of Player Safety has agreed. Tom Wilson will face no supplemental discipline.

The Department of Player Safety posted this video on Thursday night:

Shanahan determined that Schenn saw Wilson and then turned his back to avoid contact, contributing to the severity of the hit and absolving Wilson of responsibility. Further, Wilson asserted during his phone conference that the decision to hit Schenn did not occur until he was near the faceoff circle, which Shanahan corroborates in the video above.

So there’s seven minutes of ice time the Capitals won’t have to worry about on Friday night.

UPDATE: George McPhee has released a statement:

“We agree with the league’s position that it was a clean hit.  There should not have been a penalty on the play. It was a punishing hit, not predatory or otherwise illegal. Under our current rules, punishing but clean hits are permitted. We are happy that Tom Wilson was vindicated and Brayden Schenn is not injured.”