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No supplemental discipline coming for Derek Ryan’s low spear on Nils Höglander

Originally posted on Canucksarmy | By Mike Gould | Last updated 5/11/24

Edmonton Oilers forward Derek Ryan won’t face any supplemental discipline for his spear on Vancouver Canucks forward Nils Höglander early in the second period of Friday’s playoff game at Rogers Arena, Sportsnet’s Irfaan Gaffar reported Saturday morning.

Less than a minute into the middle frame, Ryan — evidently upset about being checked by Höglander moments earlier — gave the young Swede a two-handed slash between the legs as he was skating to the bench.

After labouring back onto the Canucks’ bench, Höglander was called back onto the ice and ushered over to the penalty box to serve a two-minute minor penalty for interference. Ryan was assessed a two-minute slashing penalty on the play.

The incident occurred at the 49-second mark of the middle period. Canucks forward Brock Boeser scored just four seconds after the offsetting penalties to give the hosts a 2-1 lead.

Here’s another look at the play, via the official CanucksArmy Twitter page:

Derek Ryan spears Nils Hoglander in the mid section #Canucks | #LetsGoOilers
️: Sportsnet | NHL pic.twitter.com/mcZwPp8V6a

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) May 11, 2024

Had the officiating crew on the ice in Vancouver elected to dole out a spearing penalty to Ryan on the play, chances are the Canucks would’ve gotten a pretty significant power play out of the incident.

Instead, the two teams remained at even strength and traded goals in the moments after the play. Just 23 seconds after Boeser scored his first goal of the series, Oilers defenceman Mattias Ekholm answered right back to make it a 2-2 game.

Vancouver hockey insider Rick Dhaliwal indicated on Saturday that no discipline is expected from the NHL Department of Player Safety related to any plays from Game 2. The two teams will reconvene in Edmonton on Sunday for Game 3, with both sides looking to take a 2-1 series lead.

The Canucks had a great chance to go ahead 2-0 in the series on Friday, but they blew three one-goal leads and ended up scoring on their own net in overtime to allow the Oilers to get back on even footing.

Evan Bouchard banked the winning goal off the stick of Canucks defenceman Ian Cole to give the Oilers all the momentum as the series shifts to Edmonton for Games 3 and 4. Connor McDavid collected four points for the Oilers in the Game 2 win.

This article first appeared on Canucksarmy and was syndicated with permission.

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