The NHL Department of Player Safety announced Wednesday that Vancouver Canucks winger Jake Virtanen earned a two-game suspension for his hit on San Jose Sharks defenseman Roman Polak.
The offending hit came in the second period of the Canucks' 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Sharks on Tuesday. The player safety department cited the lateness of the check as the reason behind the punishment:
"We agree with the league's take, but we don't want it to take away from the way Jake plays," said Canucks general manager Jim Benning, per Ben Kuzma of the Province in Vancouver. "Hitting and physical play are parts of who he is, but he needs to be more aware that he doesn't hit late."
Former player and current Sportsnet analyst Louie DeBrusk argued Virtanen's hit wasn't as serious as the league made it out to be:
This is the second time this month Polak was involved in an incident that resulted in a suspension. The league handed Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse a three-game ban for being the agitator and instigating a fight with Polak, who suffered a broken nose in the incident.
Polak a ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Joseph Zucker
Jake Virtanen Suspended 2 Games for Hit on Roman Polak: Latest Details, Reaction
March 30th, 2016 by Joseph Zucker Leave a reply »
Advertisement