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NHL suspends Capitals’ McIlrath, Senators’ Greig

The NHL handed out two suspensions related to preseason games on Monday.


  • The biggest punishment went to Capitals defenseman Dylan McIlrath. McIlrath was suspended four games (two in the preseason, two in the regular season) for an illegal hit to the head on Bruins forward Steven Fogarty.

You can watch McIlrath’s hit on Fogarty in the video above, which also includes the NHL’s explanation for the four-game suspension. During the preseason game itself, McIlrath received a match penalty for that hit on Fogarty.


  • Senators forward Ridly Greig received a two-game suspension (one preseason, one regular season) for cross-checking Jets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois.

Here’s the explanation video for Greig’s suspension:

Sportsnet notes that Dubois needed 15 stitches from that Greig cross-check. Even so, Dubois understood why it happened.

“I don’t think he did it on purpose,” Dubois said. “I think he just got scared, threw his stick up. He saw me coming and threw his stick up to defend himself, which is obviously against the rules for an obvious reason. It is what it is.”

Luckily, Dubois was able to return to the Jets’ preseason game against the Senators.

It’s worth noting that the NHL hopes to address cross-checking during the 2021-22 season, and that include an increase in related suspensions. For more details on how that may change, check out this deep dive by Scouting the Refs.

James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.