Vegas Golden Knights’ Alex Pietrangelo suspended one game for slash on Edmonton Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl

The NHL’s Department of Player Safety tends to zero in on non-hockey plays more than any other infraction and didn’t like what it saw from Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo Wednesday night.

The DOPS announced Thursday evening that Pietrangelo has been suspended one game for his slash on Edmonton Oilers superstar Leon Draisaitl in Game 4 of their series, which the Oilers won 4-1 at home.

Pietrangelo will miss Game 5, but is eligible to return for Game 6 on Sunday evening, which could possibly see one of the two teams clinch the series.

Context is key. The slash occurred late in the third period of a game that was out of reach for the Golden Knights. After Draisaitl missed a shot at Vegas’ net, which was empty as they tried to erase a three-goal deficit, Pietrangelo delivered a heavy slash across Draisaitl’s arms. The play:

Pietrangelo earned a five-minute major and game misconduct for the slash, which occurred with 1:27 remaining on the clock. The Oilers took major exception it, in particular captain Connor McDavid, who called it “as intent to injure as you can get” and lobbied for a suspension.

Pietrangelo has been arguably one of the cleaner defensemen in the league during his 15-year NHL career, which includes captaining the St. Louis Blues to the 2018-19 Stanley Cup. Having played 1,072 games between the regular season and playoffs, he has never been fined or suspended. That’ll change for Game 5, which goes Friday night in Vegas with the teams deadlocked at 2-2.

The Oilers haven’t given any indication that Draisaitl suffered an injury on the slash. That’s fantastic news for the Oilers given Draisaitl leads the Stanley Cup playoffs with 13 goals and 18 points.