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TJ Oshie criticizes George Parros for the Department of Player Safety’s inconsistency

By Ian Oland

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February 3, 2018 2:44 pm

Capitals forward TJ Oshie was fined $5,000 by the NHL Saturday morning for cross-checking Kris Letang during the second period of last night’s game.

After Caps practice Saturday, Oshie spoke to the media and, while accepting responsibility for the dangerous play, criticized the Department of Player Safety and George Parros by name, for inconsistency with their rulings.

Video

Video: @TarikNBCS

“I agree it’s a penalty, but I don’t look down and target,” Oshie said of the cross-check in a video posted by NBC Sports Washington’s Tarik El-Bashir. “First of all, I don’t hit his head. I don’t know what replay or secret angle they had. I got him in the back of the trap or the neck.

“It’s hard to figure out what you’re going to be fined or suspended for and what you’re not,” Oshie continued. “I don’t want to get my emotions too much into it. I got a concussion over a month ago after I got hit. I don’t know what the norm is. You get like 0.8 seconds or something? I got hit close to four seconds after I had the puck. Not only that, I got a concussion on the play and I was out.”

Caps head coach Barry Trotz was asked about Oshie’s quotes.

“I have my own thoughts,” Barry Trotz said. “Osh, I can see his frustration. He missed a lot of time when he was vulnerable at one time. I’m not going to go through the media, but we’ll just deal with it internally. He has a right to be upset a little bit I think.”

In early December, Oshie was butt-checked by future Hall of Fame player Joe Thornton in the head, causing the Caps’ star forward to miss six games with his fourth-documented concussion. Thornton would later agree to fight Tom Wilson in the third period, one of the most feared fighters in the league.

“And so I figured George is old school and Thornton fought, which I thought is respectable so I thought that was the reason why there was no suspension or fine,” Oshie said. “And then last night, Letang got free two shots at my face: one sucker punch I dropped the gloves, apparently he didn’t want to. He got another one in when the ref came in.”

“It’s a little frustrating,” Oshie said. “Nothing I can do about it now. Pay the fine. I said my two cents. Hopefully it changes or we figure out a way to get some consistency.”

Finally, Oshie brought up a point that many Caps fans believe to be true, that some teams or players get preferential treatment over others.

“It seems like (the discipline) really depends on who the hitter is, how many games they’ve played, and who they play for,” Oshie said.

Headline photo via @TarikNBCS

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