All because of $5.000: NHL game spirals out of control

In the last decade, the NHL has actually distanced itself from bully ice hockey and promoted the beautiful game. This season, however, the tide is threatening to turn: the best league in the world is increasingly making headlines with brutal fouls, serious injuries and ridiculous suspensions. The final chapter in this ugly saga belongs to the New York Rangers and the Washington Capitals. On Monday the Capitals were guests at Madison Square Garden in New York. Everything went as usual until Capitals striker Tom Wilson punched Pavel Buchnevich in the back of the head as he lay on the ground. Rangers top scorer Artemi Panarin then rushed to help his Russian compatriot, but was so brutally knocked down by Wilson that the 29-year-old's season ended. A long ban was expected for repeat offender Wilson, who is notorious for his dirty play. Instead, the Department of Player Safety only issued a $5.000 fine. The Wilson-Panarin scene: This was met with outrage in the NHL. Even resigned enforcers like John Scott and Sean Avery spoke out and said that Wilson's behavior was a no-go and should be severely punished. Otherwise, you have to resort to vigilantism - and, according to Avery, attack the opposing goalkeeper when the goal is stopped behind the goal in the classic way. The Rangers also reacted with surprise to the verdict and issued a statement calling for the resignation of George Paros, the head of the DOPS. The fact that the sports director and the president of the Rangers were fired the next day has nothing to do with this demand. Be that as it may, the two teams met again on Wednesday. And it was a duel that hadn't been seen in the NHL for a long time. Already at the first face-off the fists were flying – threefold. But that wasn't enough: In the next four minutes, the teams, including Wilson, fought three more fights, with star players like Ryan Strome not holding back. This meant that at some point six (!) Capitals players were in the penalty box at the same time. Wilson himself retired with an “upper body injury.” However, it is not clear whether Capitals coach Peter Laviolette was behind it and simply wanted to prevent his protégé from being banned for a long time. The game, which TJ Oshie & Co. won 4-2, was also overshadowed by a nasty cross-check from Buchnevich, who had been in the victim role himself on Monday. Kaprizov escapes injury The waves also ran high in the parallel game between the Vegas Golden Knights and Minnesota Wild. Wild superstar Kiril Kaprizov was checked from behind against the boards by Nic Hague and a few moments later was dragged to the ground by Zach Whitecloud - in the same style as Panarin. Fortunately, the Russian was unhurt. After the game, there were voices saying that all of these incidents would have been prevented if the DOPS led by George Paros Wilson had given an appropriate punishment. The next few days and weeks will show how this development progresses.

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All because of $5.000: NHL game spirals out of control

5.000 US dollars caused a real scandal in the NHL and provoked one of the most emotionally charged duels in recent league history. Starring: Tom Wilson.

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