Evgeni Malkin ejected for hit on T.J. Oshie
Evgeni Malkin was one angry Penguin Wednesday evening in Washington.
The Pittsburgh forward was assessed a match penalty for a hit to the head of Capitals’ forward T.J. Oshie. It looks like Malkin caught Oshie with an elbow to the head. Oshie was skating towards Malkin as it happened.
The game was tied 1-1 in the third period when the incident occured. Here’s a look at the hit:
Evgeni Malkin gets ejected for this hit to the head of T.J. Oshie pic.twitter.com/o52QJPwKmQ
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) November 8, 2018
Malkin was fuming after his ejection, telling the ref to “wake up”:
Oshie would get the last laugh, returning minutes later to score the game winner and break the 1-1 tie.
And TJ Oshie scores the go-ahead goal with 1:14 remaining in the third. Of course. pic.twitter.com/WU2j4e0Lp6
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) November 8, 2018
Oshie had a very reasonable take on the sequence with Malkin in his post-game interview:
“He maybe thought I was coming to hit him and so he threw the reverse shoulder out there, which I try to do that all the time. I did it at least once tonight. I just wasn’t expecting it being on the PK. You don’t typically go for hits.”
Malkin has been a monster this season, racking up seven goals and 20 points through 13 games. He was held off the scoresheet Wednesday, but racked up 12 PIM with that controversial hit.
Geno could get a call from the NHL Department of Player Safety, but it’s more than likely his punishment ended with a fifth straight loss for Pittsburgh.