Capitals forward TJ Oshie threw a big hit in the third period of the Caps’ 3-2 overtime loss in Game Four to the Florida Panthers. The hit sent Panthers forward Sam Bennett flying and sparked a rush the other way that saw Evgeny Kuznetsov score the then leading goal in the game.
The body contact sparked discussion about whether or not Oshie made unavoidable contact with Bennett’s head but he was not penalized by the on-ice officials and Bennett was not injured. Tuesday, The Washington Post’s Samantha Pell reports that Oshie will not receive any supplemental discipline from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety for the play.
Fwiw: No supplemental discipline coming from DoPS for T.J. Oshie’s hit on Sam Bennett last night. No penalty on the play.
With hits like this, DoPS always looks to see if the head was the main point of contact. With no discipline coming, pretty clear they determined it was not. https://t.co/TqetrGEq5G
— Samantha Pell (@SamanthaJPell) May 10, 2022
Oshie’s best argument from the angle provided above was that the main contact he actually made was with Bennett’s stick which is what actually made the most contact with the Florida forward’s head. With the DoPS taking a look and deciding against any sort of discipline, it appears that they agree with that discussion.
This is huge news for the Caps as Oshie is the team’s leading goal scorer in the series with three goals from four games. With Tom Wilson missing three straight and still not skating due to a lower-body injury, losing another top-six forward for any amount of time would have been an incredibly tough hill to climb.
Game Five between the Cats and Caps is in Sunrise on Wednesday at 7:30 PM.
