Brad Marchand isn’t set to face a disciplinary hearing for his trip on Bolts d-man Anton Stralman last night, an NHL spokesman has confirmed.
Earlier, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported he was “hearing” no supplemental discipline for Marchand, who last week was fined $10,000 for a “dangerous trip” on Detroit’s Niklas Kronwall.
The latest incident occurred late in the second period of Tuesday’s game, when Marchand swept Stralman’s left skate out from under him. No penalty was called, though Stralman contended perhaps there should’ve been.
“I can’t say if he did anything or not, but I’m not the puck holder,” Stralman explained, per the Tampa Bay Times. I’m out in the neutral zone, and I get hit from behind. That’s all I got to say.”
Per Sportsnet, the Department of Player Safety disagreed with Stralman’s assessment. The DoPS suggested Marchand was going towards the puck, and didn’t clip the Bolts d-man intentionally.
While he may have avoided further discipline here, it’s safe to suggest Marchand is firmly on the league’s radar at the moment. The Kronwall incident marked the eighth time Marchand has been fined or suspended since the start of the 2011-12 season.
If the league was to reverse course and opt to schedule a hearing, it would (theoretically) have to do it soon. The B’s are back in action tonight, when they take on the Caps in Washington.
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