Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo and Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse are both suspended for Game 5 of their Western Conference second-round series for separate incidents in Wednesday night's Game 4 in Edmonton.
Pietrangelo was suspended one game for an intentional slash on Oilers star Leon Draisaitl's forearm, the leading scorer in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
With 1:28 left in regulation and the Golden Knights trailing 4-1, Draisaitl skated down the right ring into the Vegas zone and attempted to put the puck into an empty net. Well after his shot, Pietrangelo skated over and delivered a two-handed slash to the left arm of Draisaitl.
With Draisaitl down, Oilers star Connor McDavid engaged Pietrangelo and traded a couple of punches.
Pietrangelo was given a major penalty for slashing and a game misconduct.
The Department of Players Safety ruled that the puck was way from Draisaitl for a significant amount of time and that Pietrangelo «ignored the play, raised his stick and delivered a slash to a vulnerable area of his opponent with sufficient force» to earn supplemental discipline.
Pietrangelo has never been fined nor suspended before his 15-year NHL career.
Nurse is also suspended for Game 5 as a result of an instigator penalty he was given in the final minute of regulation on Wednesday night.
An instigator penalty in the final five minutes of a game or in overtime carries an automatic one-game suspension per Rule 46.21, pending a review of the incident by the NHL. The review was handled by the NHL Department of Player Safety, which upheld Nurse's ban for Game 5.
The Oilers won Game 4 to even their series against the Golden Knights.
With 49.7 seconds left in the game and the Oilers on the power
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