The NHL Department of Player Safety has made a ruling in regards to a Game 4 incident. Vegas Golden Knights will be without a key defender for Game 5 as a slash has Alex Pietrangelo suspended. The league made its ruling Thursday evening. It’s the first career suspension for the veteran blueliner.
Vegas’ Alex Pietrangelo has been suspended for one playoff game for Slashing against Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl.https://t.co/fK1Lswfwz6
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) May 12, 2023
Alex Pietrangelo Suspended One Game
The King City, Ontario native was tossed from Game 4 in the dying minutes of the Golden Knights’ 4-1 loss. He as given a five minute major and a game misconduct for an aggressive slash of Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl. Pietrangelo skated over to the German superstar and came down hard on the Oilers’ forward’s arm. This set of a chain of events that also saw Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse get suspended one game. The teams combined for 111 penalty minutes and a number of fights. There was a combined 93 penalty minutes after the slash from Pietrangelo.
Pietrangelo has 11 goals and 43 assists for 54 points in 73 regular season games. The 33-year-old has six assists in nine games during the 2022-23 Stanley Cup Playoff games. Pietrangelo has a career total of 140 goals and 431 assists for 571 points in 952 career regular season. The St. Louis Blues selected the defenceman with the fourth overall selection of the 2008 NHL Draft. Pietrangelo helped the Blues win their only Stanley Cup in 2019.
Impact of Alex Pietrangelo Being Suspended
Both Vegas and Edmonton will be without a top-four defenceman for Game 5 in Vegas. Pietrangelo is a great puck-moving defenceman and helps facilitate chances for the Golden Knights. He’s gotten plenty of hits from the Oilers during the entirety of the series.
Game 5 is going to be a pivotal game in the series. Edmonton may be down Nurse, but Vegas is going to miss Pietrangelo for sure. Winning this game may be tough for the Knights, but the team can rebound and take the series lead. Vegas is a good squad, but Edmonton is capable of winning on the road.
Main photo by: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports
