WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Jets forward Mark Scheifele won’t be appealing his four-game suspension for a crushing blow to the head and shoulder of Montreal’s Jake Evans.
Scheifele calls the NHL’s punishment “excessive” but says he doesn’t want to be a distraction for his team. He says he did not intend to injure Evans and was only trying to stop him from scoring.
The hit came in the final minute of Montreal’s 5-3 win in Game 1 of their second-round series Wednesday night. Evans’ head struck the ice and he was taken off the ice on a stretcher. He wasn’t hospitalized but the Canadiens say he has a concussion and is out indefinitely.
In other NHL news:
— Penguins center Evgeni Malkin has had surgery on his right knee and will not be available when the team reports for training camp in September. Malkin injured the knee in a collision against Boston on March 16. He missed seven weeks before returning to appear for the final four games of the regular season.
— Blue Jackets center Max Domi is expected to miss the beginning of the 2021-22 season after surgery to repair a labral tear in his right shoulder. Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen says Domi is expected to make a full recovery in five to six months.
