No suspension expected after Ottawa Senators Dylan Gambrell ejected for high hit
Ottawa Senators forward Dylan Gambrell was given a match penalty and ejected from a Tuesday night game against the Tampa Bay Lightning for a high hit, but no suspension is likely.
This, according to Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin, came after Gambrell caught Bolts defenceman Erik Cernak with a hit to the head.
A match penalty can cause the knee-jerk reaction of “suspend him!“ but it’s not always valid.
I wouldn’t expect additional discipline for Dylan Gambrell. Elbow popped up after — and as a result of — the contact. Cernak also bent head down right before.
The incident happened in the second period. Cernak went to play a puck to the side of the Lightning net, and Gambrell went to lay a bodycheck on the rearguard. Instead of making contact with Cernak’s body, Gambrell had turned his own catching the former with a elbow to the head.
Officially, referees Furman South and Michael Markovic gave Gambrell a five-minute major for intent to injure and a two minute minor. Gambrell scored his first goal of the year 5:44 into the first period to open the scoring in the game.
Cernak, meanwhile, briefly left the game but returned to finish it out and ultimately played 18:37 in time on ice — second most among Lightning defenceman. Tampa Bay was already without No. 1 defenceman Victor Hedman, who was a game-time decision but didn’t play.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.