HERSHEY, PA — Andrew Cristall was ejected from Monday’s Washington Capitals–Philadelphia Flyers preseason game in Hershey after sticking up for teammate Ryan Leonard.
The mess started when Flyers prospect defenseman Hunter McDonald cleaned Leonard out hard into the boards. Cristall immediately skated over and cross-checked McDonald in the face, sparking a melee in the Capitals’ offensive zone.
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Cristall was assessed a five-minute major for cross-checking and a game misconduct, ending his night with 7:07 remaining in the second period.
“Heart was in the right place,” Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery told RMNB and other reporters after the game. “I told the guys that. I mean, he’s trying to stick up for a teammate that just got hit. And I didn’t see the replay. Obviously, they gave him a five-minute major. But I told our guys, as AC’s in that moment, and obviously, it’s high or whatever they call him on the ice, but his heart’s in the right place.
“He’s trying to stick up for one of his brothers. He’s trying to do the right thing and puts us shorthanded, but like I said, I know where he was coming from, and I appreciate that. You just want to try to do that as clean as you can in those moments.”
The NHL’s Department of Player Safety could intervene because of the severity and intentionality of the cross-check up high. While McDonald was shaken up and slow to get up, he did not appear to be injured and stayed in the game. Leonard was also unharmed by the initial hit.
“It was kind of a weird play,” Dylan Strome said. “It didn’t look like much, and then the guy kind of finished his check and kind of follows through. I don’t think AC is really a dirty player. I don’t think he’s trying to cross-check the guy in the face, kind of just go scrum it up a little bit, but his hands got up a little high, and obviously with no review in this game, in this rink, I think I would probably say maybe that’s a four-minute high-sticking penalty if they could review it. So, no, it’s one of those that, you know, he’s sticking up for his teammate. You can never get mad at a guy for that. I don’t think it was a dirty hit on Leno, but… I think it was good on AC to step up there.”
After playing his rookie season in Hershey last year year, Cristall was making his preseason debut for the Capitals and is currently battling for one of the Caps’ final forward spots on their Opening Night roster, battling for a roster spot against other forwards like Jonny Brodzinski, Ivan Miroshnichenko, Ethen Frank, and Josh Dunne.
“Yeah, AC’s a little bit incomplete tonight,” Carbery said. “I feel bad for him not being able to finish the game because I feel like, you know, similar to Ches (Ryan Chesley), being able to play in the second and third period probably gets his feet underneath him.”
Cristall’s frontier justice came after Leonard scored earlier in the night, sniping a shot past Flyers goaltender Joseph Woll with 42 seconds remaining in the first period to put the Capitals up 2-1.
Leonard signed an eight-year extension worth $10.5 million per season earlier in the month.
Update, September 22: Cristall avoided a suspension and was just fined $2,250.86 by Player Safety, the maximum allowable under the CBA.
