LA Kings defenseman Drew Doughty has been fined $2,500 -- the maximum allowable under the CBA -- for cross-checking St. Louis Blues forward TJ Oshie during last night’s 3-2 win.
Here’s video of the hit with analysis from NHL on NBC’s Jeremy Roenick and Pierre McGuire:
The hit occurred with two seconds left. Doughty was whistled for a minor penalty, but the Blues were still irate at both the hit and the decision to only call a minor. “The end result is a two-minute penalty and a faceoff outside the zone,” Blues captain David Backes told the Belleville News-Democrat. “They might as well just run the clock on that. I guess if that’s the extent of it, that’s a good way to kill the clock is no-holds-barred at the end of the game.”
As for Doughty, he told Andy Strickland of Truehockey.com “I thought he turned at the last minute, I was just trying to finish my man. I saw him take a peek and maybe I should have done a shoulder hit as opposed to a cross-check but I had no intention of hurting him and I hope he’s okay.”
Blues radio play-by-play man Chris Kerber reports Oshie is good to go for tonight’s contest in Pittsburgh.