We have our first ejection of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
And, man, has it ever been costly for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Late in the first period of Game 1 between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Washington Capitals, Blue Jackets forward Josh Anderson drilled Caps defensemen Michal Kempny from behind on the end boards in Washington’s zone.
[NBC’s Stanley Cup Playoff Hub]
Kempny had a towel pressed to his face and left the game after the hit. He did not return for the second period. Anderson, for his efforts, was handed a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct.
#Caps Michal Kempny (upper body) will not return to tonight’s game and will be re-evaluated tomorrow.
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) April 13, 2018
Washington didn’t waste any time on the ensuing power play.
Evgeny Kuznetsov scored 29 seconds into the power play and then double the Caps lead to 2-0 with his second power-play goal of the game 29 seconds after that.
UPDATE:
No DoPS hearing coming for Tom Wilson (or Josh Anderson). Caps might have caught a break with insufficient TV angles https://t.co/3B1yGb5e6e
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) April 13, 2018
Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck