Monday's hockey: Leafs' Rielly could get cross-check suspension like Wings' Perron
Toronto — The Toronto Maple Leafs are bracing to play their next several games without top defenseman Morgan Rielly, who could be facing a lengthy suspension.
He has an in-person hearing with the NHL’s department of player safety scheduled for Tuesday in New York. An in-person hearing allows the league to suspend Rielly for six or more games.
Rielly cross-checked Ridly Greig up high in retaliation for the Ottawa Senators player firing a slap shot into an empty net with 5.1 seconds left in the teams' game Saturday night.
“I think it definitely deserved a reaction,” teammate and fellow All-Star Auston Matthews said after practice Monday. “Morgan’s not a malicious player and somebody that’s dirty, by any means. I think him approaching him was something that was just bound to happen.
"Somebody was going to do it, especially after a play like that. I just don’t think it’s really necessary to go down there and ‘hardest shot competition’ into the net.”
Toronto hosts the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night and plays six games over the next 10 days. If Rielly gets six games, it would match the longest suspension handed out this season.
Red Wings forward David Perron received a six-game suspension for cross-checking Senators defenseman Artem Zub after Dylan Larkin was knocked unconscious after being cross-checked in the back of the head and neck by Ottawa’s Mathieu Joseph on Dec. 10, 2023.
“I was expecting a fine, a one-game (suspension) max,” Leafs enforcer Ryan Reaves said. “The kid got up after, (and he was) completely fine. I think that’s got to be taken into account, too.”
Reaves, 37, called Rielly's reaction “appropriate."
“A guy takes a clapper into our net, you going to go play paddy-cake with him? No, there’s got to be a message sent,” Reaves said. “The code’s changed a little bit, the game’s changed a lot and it’s unfortunate that a young kid like that can get away with something like that, and then one of our best players is going to get suspended for it.”
Rielly, 29, has no disciplinary history in his 11-year professional career. Greig, 21, the son of former NHL player Mark Greig, is in his first full NHL season.
Senators coach Jacques Martin said it didn't matter how Greig scored the empty-netter and was not happy with Rielly's actions.
“I think it's not a hockey play,” Martin said after the game. “I don't know if it's frustration or something, but it's not part of the game.”
Ottawa's Josh Norris (Oxford) said he understood Rielly's frustration, even though he wasn't a fan of the play.
“I loved it, but I’m sure obviously if we were on the other side, I don’t know if we would’ve liked it, either,” Norris said. “It’s over with. I guess it was entertaining.”
Veteran forward Claude Giroux said it was a product of an intense game.
“The emotions sometimes will get to you,” Giroux said. “I obviously don't like to see him getting in the face there, but there’s not much really to say. Sometimes that kind of stuff happens.”
The fallout is the Leafs, who are trying to hold on to a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, dealing with life without Rielly. Toronto is tied with Detroit for the final wild-card spot with 60 points.
“We all got to pick up those minutes,” defenseman Mark Giordano said. “Those are big minutes. He plays in every situation. He’s been really underrated this year across the league.
"I think offensively, obviously we all know what he does, but I think in all areas of the game he’s been really good this year. A big part of our team, obviously.”
Monday's NHL games
(At) N.Y. Rangers 2, Calgary 0: Igor Shesterkin stopped 30 shots for his first shutout of the season and the Rangers' fifth straight win.
Will Cuylle and Jimmy Vesey scored for the Rangers, who are 6-1-1 in their last eight games. Shesterkin got his 12th career shutout and second straight win to improve to 21-12-1 on the season.
Jacob Markstrom finished with 29 saves as the Flames snapped a four-game win streak.
(At) Philadelphia 5, Arizona 3: Travis Konecny had a goal and two assists, Scott Laughton added a goal and an assist and Philadelphia rallied to beat Arizona for its fourth straight win.
Morgan Frost, Jamie Drysdale and Owen Tippett also scored for the Flyers, whose winning streak has come following the All-Star break. Philadelphia, third in the Metropolitan Division, entered the break on a five-game losing streak. Sam Ersson made 20 saves.
Matt Dumba, Matias Maccelli and Alex Kerfoot scored for Arizona, which has lost six in a row, including three straight since the All-Star break. The Coyotes’ last win came on Jan. 22. Karel Vejmelka finished with 29 saves.
(At) New Jersey 3, Seattle 1: All-Star Jack Hughes had a goal and an assist for his first points since being injured in early January, Nico Daws made 27 saves and New Jersey handed Seattle its third straight loss.
Tyler Toffoli and Dawson Mercer also scored as the Devils swept the two-game season series with the Kraken. New Jersey has allowed one regulation goal in the last two games, losing to Carolina 1-0 on Saturday.
Defenseman Will Borgen scored halfway through the third period to deny Daws his first career shutout and the Devils’ first of the season. Joey Daccord had 34 saves for Seattle.
Minnesota 5, (at) Vegas 3: Joel Eriksson Ek scored twice and Minnesota got its third straight win.
Mats Zuccarello, Marco Rossi and Matt Boldy also scored to help the Wild get their sixth victory in eight games. Filip Gustavsson made 27 saves.
Jonathan Marchessault, Michael Amadio and Mark Stone scored for Vegas, while Adin Hill stopped 24 shots.
Ovechkin on longest goal-scoring streak in years
Maybe all it took was riding a camel for Alex Ovechkin to get over the hump after a rough first half of the NHL season.
Fresh off a family trip to Dubai during the Washington Capitals' bye week and the All-Star break, Ovechkin has scored in all four games to extend his streak to five, his longest in nearly three years.
After just eight goals through his first 43 games, the Russian superstar, captain and face of the franchise has heated up just in time to revive the possibility of breaking Wayne Gretzky's career record that long seemed unapproachable.
Ovechkin now has 13 goals this season to give him 835 – 60 back of passing Gretzky.
“Certainly not surprised by it,” said Vancouver defenseman Ian Cole (Ann Arbor), who has played dozens of games trying to contain Ovechkin over the past decade. “He is the gold standard for goal scoring in NHL history, in my mind. Obviously Wayne Gretzky, he’s the ‘Great One,’ he’s the best, but what Ovi’s done in the time period that he’s played is absolutely remarkable. …
"His ability to continue to be a force in this league in more than one sense, but certainly the goal-scoring one, is amazing. His longevity, it’s incredible.”
Now 38, Ovechkin is back to producing like previous years. Last spring, he became the first player in NHL history to record 40 goals in a season 13 times and was scoring in his mid- and late-30s like no one since Phil Esposito in the 1970s.
“He’s playing at a real high level," coach Spencer Carbery said. “I feel like he’s even skating a little bit more. I feel like there’s a little bit more jump in his step.”
Stevens departs Grand Rapids
The Detroit Red Wings and center Nolan Stevens mutually agreed to terminate his NHL contract, according to the Grand Rapids Griffins on Monday.
Stevens had three goals and eight assists for 11 points and a plus-9 rating in 31 games with the Griffins this year.
The 27-year-old native of Brantford, Ontario, has played six years in the AHL with 48 goals and 82 assists for 130 points in 268 career games.
Stevens spent four season at Northeastern University with 118 points in 132 games before being drafted in the sixth round by the St. Louis Blues in 2016.
The Griffins (30-21-15-4, second place in the Central Division) will return to action on Tuesday against the Cleveland Monsters (28-26-15-2, second in the North Division) at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland.
Michigan-area hockey games this week
Tuesday
▶ Red Wings at Edmonton, 9 (BSD/97.1)
▶ Grand Rapids at Cleveland, 7 (AHL/96.1)
Thursday
▶ Red Wings at Vancouver, 10 (BSD/97.1)
Friday
▶ Cleveland at Grand Rapids, 7 (AHL/106.9/1300)
▶ Michigan at Penn State, 7 (Big Ten)
Saturday
▶ Red Wings at Calgary, 4 (BSD/97.1)
▶ Grand Rapids at Rockford, 8 (AHL/96.1)
▶ NTDP U17s at Muskegon, 7:10
▶ Michigan at Penn State, 6 (Big Ten)
Sunday
▶ Muskegon at NTDP U18s, 4