Simek plays vs. Coyotes following ‘dangerous’ hit; Schmaltz fined by NHL
San Jose Sharks defenseman Radim Simek dressed for Saturday night’s game with Arizona, avoiding a more serious injury on what coach Bob Boughner thought was a reckless play by Coyotes forward Nick Schmaltz.
Simek was injured midway through the third period of Friday’s game as he was pushed from behind into the end boards by Schmaltz. Simek went shoulder-first into the wall, left the ice, and did not return
in what turned into a 5-2 Sharks loss to the Coyotes at Gila River Arena.
For the hit, Schmaltz was given a two-minute minor for boarding and on Saturday, fined $5,000 by the NHL, the maximum allowable
under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement.
“I didn’t like the hit,” Boughner said Saturday morning. “I’m glad the league stepped up there. I think that it was more of a hit but a push, and when a guy is in a vulnerable position. Now we have a player today who may not play tonight, who’s pretty stiff after that. I think that’s a dangerous, dangerous play.”
Simek has played in 27 of the 33 games so far this season. He missed two games at the start of the season with knee issues, and missed four games last month with an upper-body injury after a bodycheck from Jonathan Marchessault of the Vegas Golden Knights on Feb. 13.
Simek came into Saturday with four points, averaging 14 minutes and 26 seconds of ice time per game.
SECOND TO ONE >> Patrick Marleau dressed in his 1,756th career NHL game Saturday night, tying him with Mark Messier for the second-most games played in league history.
Barring anything unforeseen, Marleau will pass Messier on Monday when the Sharks host the Minnesota Wild. Marleau will then be just 10 games behind Gordie Howe, who holds
the league record with 1,767 games played over a 26-season NHL career.
In his own 25-year NHL career, Messier, 60, won the Stanley Cup six times, was a two-time Hart Trophy winner as the league’s MVP, and is third all-time in league history with 1,887 points.
Messier began his NHL career in 1979 and retired in 2005, and likely would have passed Howe on the all-time games played list had there not been NHL work stoppages in 1994 and the duration of the 200405 season.
“I played against him towards the end of his career, and he was still, as one of the older guys in the league, one of the stronger guys I’ve ever played against on the puck,” Boughner said of Messier.