Following Tom Wilson’s suspension on Wednesday, the Capitals have been addressing the situation with the media ahead of Game Four.
Devante Smith-Pelly, who will be taking Wilson’s place on the top line, had some interesting comments to make about his surprise at the Department of Player Safety’s decision to hand down a suspension.
DSP called out the NHL for saying one thing and then doing another.
Video
Smith-Pelly’s comments begin at 00:12 in the video.
“The night it happened, the league called and said it was fine. It was shoulder to shoulder,” Smith-Pelly said. “Then we wake up the next day and see a hearing. It is what it is. I mean, I can go on all day. It is what it is, and we just have to move on. Next guy up.”
The comments from Smith-Pelly are the first reference made to the league contacting the Capitals immediately following the hit.
After the game, Paul Devorski, the NHL’s on-site supervisor, also spoke to the press and said the hit was “a good, clean check.”
Also, relevant to the Wilson hit, this is what the officials saw last night: pic.twitter.com/ysBP9K7r9V
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) May 2, 2018
The Department of Player Safety ultimately decided that Wilson delivered an illegal check to Zach Aston-Reese’s head, and suspended him for three games.
Headline photo: Sportsnet
