During Sunday’s 6-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds took a good crack at Matt Murray’s head.
After a whistle, Simmonds gave Murray a flyby, on which he speared Murray in the head with his stick blade.
It didn’t draw a call on the ice and didn’t draw much attention, outside of a couple replays on the Pens broadcast. Murray stayed in the game, after rubbing his neck a bit and skating to the bench for a water bottle.
The Penguins didn’t seek retribution against Simmonds either, though they did if you count the five goals they put behind Steve Mason.
Watch the play below.
Might he get a call from the Department of Player Safety? It will depend some on if there’s any way that can be viewed as accidental. How firmly he sticks Murray, and the way he doesn’t even look back afterward, as though he wasn’t surprised by the contact, might make that a tough sell.
Simmonds is an agitator, so a reading of the play that says this is intentional probably leans a to on his history of getting under the skin of opponents.
On the other hand, Simmonds took the time to apologize to Murray.
Per Ian Cole, Matt Murray said Wayne Simmonds apologized for jabbing him in the neck.
— Seth Rorabaugh (@SethRorabaugh) April 4, 2016