Shane Doan Suspended Three Games For Hit On Jamie Benn
Tuesday night’s tilt between the Phoenix Coyotes and Dallas Stars got quite a bit physical, which shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise for a pair of gritty teams in the middle of a playoff race.
What ignited some of that ugliness was the elbow of Shane Doan. In the second period of the Stars’ shootout win over the Yotes, Doan took his elbow and cracked Jamie Benn in the face. Benn stayed in the game, while Doan took a two minute minor for elbowing. Both appeared in the shootout, with Doan’s last shot getting saved to win it for Dallas.
Though Doan claimed the hit to be an accident, it was defined by the NHL as “reckless”, and he was hit with a three-game suspension. Doan is considered a repeat offender, having been suspended in the past and fined just last week, which was a factor in his suspension.
Though they’re still in the thick of things in the playoff race in the Western Conference, losing their captain to a suspension won’t help the Coyotes for the three games he’s now set to miss. The Coyotes have won just three of their 10 games in the month of March, after a torrid run in February.
You can see NHL minister of defense Brendan Shanahan‘s video explanation below.
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