Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews to have hearing over Heritage Classic crosscheck
Auston Matthews has a date with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety.
The Leafs forward will have a phone hearing Monday for cross-checking Buffalo Sabres defenceman Rasmus Dahlin in the head.
Dahlin and Matthews get into it, and there probably should be some supplementary discipline to come from that cross-check… pic.twitter.com/ydaeGIvKbG
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) March 13, 2022The incident happened with just over five minutes left in the game Sunday afternoon. Both players began jockeying for position in front of the Sabres net and at one point, Matthews was knocked to the ice.
He sprung back up delivering a high cross-check that hit Dahlin in the head/neck area.
After the game, Matthews said he felt the cross-check hit Dahlin’s shoulder and slid into his head.
Bad blood continues to spill. After the aforementioned pair served minor penalties for the skirmish, Matthews was hit by Dylan Cozens and was sent flying.
Linemate Michael Bunting took exception chasing the Sabres forward down the ice. Another skirmish ensued with those two, as well as Leafs forward Ilya Mikheyev and Sabres forward Tage Thompson receiving misconducts.
Despite scoring his 45th goal of the season in the game, Matthews and the Leafs lost the game to the Sabres 5-2.
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.