USA’s Ryan Lindgren ejected from World Championship game for hit to head of Evan Bouchard

A heated rivalry went a little overboard in an important game.

During a quarterfinal matchup between the United States and Canada at the 2026 IIHF Men’s World Championship, U.S. defenseman Ryan Lindgren was ejected for an illegal hit to the head on Canadian defenseman Evan Bouchard.

The incident came a little over six minutes into the game on Thursday in Fribourg, Switzerland. Bouchard was trying to bring the puck deep into the American zone, when Lindgren stepped into the Edmonton Oilers defender, catching him in the side of the head with his shoulder.

Bouchard was knocked out cold for a couple of minutes and had to be helped off the ice before being guided down to the locker room.

A video review took place to confirm the penalty, a five-minute major and a game misconduct. It’s widely known that the IIHF has a zero-tolerance policy on hits to the head, whether accidental or intentional. While 10-minute misconducts are often seen after head contact, officials determined that Lindgren’s check was severe enough to warrant an ejection.

Canada failed to capitalize on the power play, but scored later in the frame with Macklin Celebrini cashing in on another man advantage.

When speaking to TSN’s Brit Dort during the intermission, Canada defenseman Morgan Rielly noted how tough it is to lose Bouchard in such an important game.

“You don’t want to see guys go down,” Rielly said. “Obviously, he’s a very important player for us, a very talented player. We need guys to step up, take on more ice time and responsibility.”

Bouchard logged just 2:40 of ice time before exiting the game, with Lindgren registering 2:21.

Bouchard scored a goal and six points during seven games in the opening round, helping Canada finish atop Group B. He also posted a plus/minus of +14 while averaging almost 23 minutes of ice time. Lindgren was appearing in his eighth game of the tournament. Leading into the knockout stage, he had registered an assist and a +4 rating while averaging 17:10 of ice time.