Tampa Bay blueliner Anton Stralman doesn’t have a disciplinary hearing scheduled for his big check on Winnipeg forward Bryan Little from Thursday night, an NHL spokesman confirmed.
The incident occurred late in the second period, forcing Little from the contest entirely. Stralman wasn’t penalized for the hit, but did receive a two-minute roughing minor (Jets forward Blake Wheeler, who went after Stralman following the hit, got a double minor).
Winnipeg head coach Paul Maurice was livid with the hit and the referee’s handling of the situation. He was given an abuse of official penalty at the end of the second frame, and was then ejected at the start of the third for continuing to voice his displeasure with the officials.
After the game, Maurice went off on Stralman:
Wheeler on hit on Little: "(Stralman) was taking a liberty on a guy who was in a vulnerable spot and that pisses you off.” #NHLJets
— Ted Wyman (@Ted_Wyman) February 19, 2016
Andrew Ladd on Stralman hit on Little: "Do you need to try to take his head off? I don’t think so. It’s a clear head shot." #NHLJets
— Ted Wyman (@Ted_Wyman) February 19, 2016
Then on referee Francois St. Laurent, who was caught laughing and smiling after tossing Maurice from the game. From the Free Press:
Asked for a reaction to St. Laurent chuckling/smiling about the ejection, Maurice added this:
“You’re not doing me any favors here. I understand you’ve got a job to do, but I think that would then have been consistent with their overall demeanor regarding the whole incident. That’s fair.”
Tampa Bay is back in action on Saturday, when it takes on the Penguins in Pittsburgh. Winnipeg also plays on Saturday -- in Florida -- and Little did travel withe the team.