On the same night the NHL suspended Kings defenseman Drew Doughty one game for an illegal check to the head of Golden Knights forward William Carrier, another dangerous play occurred in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Hulking Blue Jackets winger Josh Anderson received a five-minute boarding major and a game misconduct when he ran Michal Kempny into the boards after the Capitals defenseman turned to play the puck behind Washington's net. Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella disagreed with the calls, refusing to listen to an explanation from the referee.
Josh Anderson boarding ejection in Columbus/Washington pic.twitter.com/PpPEaEEZ0k
— Jeff Veillette (@JeffVeillette) April 13, 2018
The play occurred at 17:23 of the first period in the series opener at Capital One Arena on Thursday. The game was scoreless at the time of the penalties, but the Capitals quickly took advantage of the five-minute power play, scoring twice within the first minute of the major penalty.
Evgeny Kuznetsov on Josh Anderson's bad hit on Kempny: "We always feel bad when one of my teammates get hurt like that... It doesn't bother us. We just have to play the hockey." pic.twitter.com/zRgHdeyFP4
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) April 13, 2018
Washington's Evgeny Kuznetsov, who was second on the Caps with 27 goals and 83 points this season, scored both of the goals — just 29 seconds apart — at 17:52 and 18:21 as the Blue Jackets fell into a 2-0 hole. Columbus did kill off the remainder of the five-minute major against Anderson.
Kempny remained down on the ice for an extended period before skating off under the assistance of the team's trainer, who held a towel against the defenseman's head. He did not return to the game.
#Caps Michal Kempny (upper body) will not return to tonight’s game and will be re-evaluated tomorrow.
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) April 13, 2018