Mat Barzal to face possible discipline for interfering with player on the ice from the bench
Tonight marked the end of the New York Islanders' playoff hopes. It also marked the Toronto Maple Leafs setting franchise records for both wins and points in a single season. But there is another play from the game that appears to be drawing interest.
During the 3rd period, while Mitch Marner stood in front of the Islanders' bench, Mat Barzal reached out and grabbed Marner's jersey. The grab on Marner's jersey prevented him from getting involved in the play as he wanted.
While the play is seemingly harmless it's likely to draw the attention of NHL Player Safety. Earlier this year Jamie Benn was fined $5,000 for spraying water onto a player from the bench.
After the game Mitch Marner was asked about the incident and had the following to say about the matter:
Hopefully he gets fined for that, that would be great.
The likeliest outcome would be for Barzal to receive a fine for this play, but in my opinion a $5,000 fine doesn't do enough to discourage this behavior in the future. If a $5,000 fine is the baseline for this action, what's to stop a player from performing similar action in a key playoff game?
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 18 | 210 ANSWERS Mat Barzal to face possible discipline for interfering with player on the ice from the bench What should the punishment be for this play? | ||
| $5,000 Fine | 58 | 27.6 % |
| 1 Game Suspension | 72 | 34.3 % |
| No punishment | 80 | 38.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
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