Kings D Muzzin ejected for hip check to head
Los Angeles Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin is probably going to be having a discussion with the NHL’s department of player safety on Sunday after he was given a match penalty against the Arizona Coyotes for an illegal check to the head of Boyd Gordon.
The match penalty carries an automatic one-game suspension pending a league review.
What is so interesting about this particular play is it involved getting hit directly in the head by either Muzzin’s hip or butt.
As Gordon attempts to make a play on the puck, he falls down to one knee just as Muzzin comes flying in and makes direct contact with his head.
Muzzin match penalty for check to the head of Gordon’s head cc @KDibildeaux pic.twitter.com/MJsQAGVTww
— Stephanie (@myregularface) December 27, 2015
Muzzin ended up getting a five-minute major and the match penalty for the hit. Gordon did not return to the game.
When it comes to additional discipline, it’s all going to come down to whether or not the league feels Muzzin was put in a situation where making head contact was unavoidable, and given that Gordon went down to the ice just before contact, that seems like a strong possibility.
The Kings were leading 3-1 at the time late in the third period, but Muzzin’s penalty was quickly followed by a delay of game penalty on the Kings that gave Arizona an extended 5-on-3 power play.
The Coyotes capitalized thanks to goals from Antoine Vermette and Oliver Ekman-Larsson just 30 seconds apart to send the game to overtime.
The Kings would eventually win in the extra period thanks to a shorthanded goal by Anze Kopitar just 36 seconds into the period.
[GIF via @MyRegularFace]
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