Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom will have a phone hearing this afternoon at 3:30 p.m. with the NHL department of player safety to determine if his one-game automatic suspension will be upheld, extended or rescinded. Backstrom cross-checked Bruins forward Rich Peverley in the head as the final horn sounded on Monday’s Game 3 between Boston and Washington.
Earlier in the day, Caps coach Dale Hunter said Backstrom, who missed 40 games thanks to a Jan. 3 concussion, was just trying to protect himself from the Bruins. Hunter alleges Boston players are targeting Backstrom’s head. His explanation for Backstrom’s actions:
“I think he was just trying to protect his face. If you watch it, his stick’s right in his eyes, and it’s a dangerous play on their part,” Hunter said. “And especially for him because if you noticed it, every scrum, Nicky comes out with no helmet on, he gets blockered to the head by Thomas the game before. He’s protecting his head. He just came out for 40 games. You have to protect your head.”
The Bruins spoke Tuesday at their team hotel before Hunter so no reaction to those specific comments.
“I know there’s times it’s gotten a little bit out of hand but that’s what they’ve got referees for, to control that,” Boston coach Claude Julien said. “That’s what they’ve got league disciplinarians for and we just got to make sure we play our game. As a team you worry about the approach that you’re team’s going to take and try to keep them as disciplined as possible and go from there.”
The NHL is, obviously, a bit backed up at the moment with multiple hearings and rulings from other playoff series, including one for Pittsburgh’s Arron Asham for his cross-check and punch to the head of Philadelphia’s Brayden Schenn. So Brendan Shanahan, the league’s senior vice president of player safety, may not announce a final decision until later this evening or even Wednesday morning.
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