The NHL’s Department of Player Safety (DoPS) announced on Friday evening that Toronto Maple Leafs forward Pierre Engvall has been suspended one game for high-sticking Los Angeles Kings defenseman Sean Durzi in a game on Thursday.
Originally, this play looked like it could be a lengthy suspension for Engvall, as initial replays made it appear as though he slashed Durzi over the top of his head. However, it became clear from different angles that while he was indeed trying to make contact with the Kings defenseman, it wasn’t nearly as hard of a chop as initially believed. That said, it was still a dangerous play, resulting in the one game suspension.
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What also helped in Engvall’s case is that he has had no prior incidents with the DoPS over his 195 game career. On top of that, he was also assessed a match penalty at the time and was kicked out of the game as a result. Most importantly of all, of course, was that Durzi was not injured, and went on to log north of 20 minutes in what ended up being a 5-0 loss for he and his Kings teammates.
Though not as bad as initially believed to be, it was clear that Engvall was frustrated in yesterday’s game, likely in large part due to his rather mediocre season thus far. After registering career highs last season with 15 goals and 35 points in 78 games, he has just four goals and seven points through his first 27 outings of the 2022-23 campaign.
Engvall’s struggles aside, however, the Leafs as a whole are rolling right now, and currently sit second in the Atlantic Division with a 17-5-6 record. They will have a chance to further improve on that record tomorrow night in a home tilt against the Calgary Flames.
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