Virtanen gets two games for ‘predatory’ hit on Shark
Rookie Jake Virtanen was suspended for two games Wednesday for what the NHL’s department of player safety called a late, violent and predatory hit on San Jose Sharks’ defenceman Roman Polak.
Virtanen received a five-minute interference penalty and a game misconduct for the hit, which was delivered near centre ice two minutes into the second period of Tuesday’s game at Rogers Arena.
“What elevates this hit to supplemental discipline is its extreme lateness and the predatory nature of the hit,” the National Hockey League’s department of player safety said in a video explaining its decision.
“Polak has no reason to anticipate being hit this long after moving the puck. This is not a case in which a player finishes a check initiated while his opponent still has the puck. Virtanen has ample time to avoid or at the very least minimize this hit once he recognizes that Polak is no longer in possession of the puck.
“Instead, approaching from the blindside, Virtanen veers sharply into Polak with force, delivering a violent hit well outside the acceptable time frame to deliver a check.”
Virtanen will miss Thursday’s game in San Jose and Friday’s game in Anaheim. He will be eligible to return for Monday’s home game against the Los Angeles Kings.
Virtanen did not accompany the team on its trip to San Jose on Wednesday. General manager Jim Ben
ning met with Virtanen in his office on Wednesday morning, before Virtanen’s phone hearing with the league. “He came into my office and we had a good talk this morning and then we talked to the league,” Benning said in a TSN 1040 radio interview Wednesday. “Playing physical is part of his DNA and part of what makes him a good player, so I talked to him about being careful going forward with the late hit, the blindside hits. But we don’t want him to curb his physicality because I think it is an important part of our team.”
After Tuesday’s game, Virtanen acknowledged his hit was late, but said he was trying to finish his check.
“I was backchecking and saw Polak move the puck and I just wanted to finish my check and it ended up being a little bit late,” Virtanen said. “But it was shoulder to shoulder, I thought.”
HEADING SOUTH: Benning is heading next week to Tampa, the site of the NCAA Frozen Four tourney. The Canucks have two draft picks, Boston College goalie Thatcher Demko and North Dakota forward Brock
Boeser, in the event.
HAPPY HIGGINS: Back to where he didn’t think he’d ever be again, veteran winger Chris
Higgins is determined to enjoy the rest of the season.
Higgins, who had been waived in January and sent to Vancouver’s AHL affiliate in Utica, N.Y., scored the Canucks’ lone goal on Tuesday.
“Just getting back into this locker-room, I didn’t think I’d see the day,” Higgins said. “It is a different feeling for me, personally. But I am having fun and like I said, I have been through a lot with a lot of the guys in the locker-room and it’s just nice being around again. I missed these guys.”