The Washington Capitals‘ Garnet Hathaway has been suspended three games for spitting at Erik Gudbranson of the Anaheim Ducks. The decision came Wednesday after a meeting with NHL Player Safety. Player Safety announced the penalty not long after.
Washington Capitals forward Garnet Hathaway suspended three games for spitting incident: https://t.co/OUcZUfJkoO pic.twitter.com/uDitPBBiBt
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) November 20, 2019
Garnet Hathaway Suspended
The incident came near the end of the second period with the Capitals up 3-0 in a game they would eventually win 5-2. A brief scrum erupted between the two teams. Gudbranson clearly throws a quick punch at Hathaway and Hathaway responds by spitting at him.
Garnet Hathaway gets a match penalty for spitting in Erik Gudbranson’s face pic.twitter.com/KfjjkBMtVC
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) November 19, 2019
Hathaway was given a match penalty and ejected. Nick Ritchie was given a Game Misconduct but several other players were penalized as well.
This fight did not have much of an impact as Washington would go on to score two more goals in the third but Anaheim did make things a little interesting with two of their own. The win extended Washington’s lead over the rest of the NHL with a league-best 16 wins and 36 points. Hathaway had one assist in the contest before his ejection.
What This Means for the Future
Hathaway has been productive as one of Washington’s bottom-six forwards. The former Calgary Flames forward has two goals and seven points in 28 contests but his biggest value is his physical play.
Hathaway is tied with Radko Gudas for the second-most hits. Hathaway had two goals and five assists for seven points in the year. He also has a positive 51.9 Corsi For Percentage and plays well on the penalty kill. Overall, Hathaway has 18 goals and 47 points spread across 198 games in five years. This punishment doesn’t do much to impact either Hathaway or Washington. However, it will affect their depth. Look for some AHL players to get a bit of a shot with Hathaway out.
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