Rangers' Miller faces hearing for spitting on opponent
K'Andre Miller of the New York Rangers will have a hearing with the NHL's department of player safety for spitting at L.A. Kings defenseman Drew Doughty.
The league announced Monday that Miller would have a hearing for unsportsmanlike conduct.
It was not immediately clear when the hearing would take place. The Rangers do not play again until Wednesday at Philadelphia.
Miller in a message posted on social media earlier Monday called his actions “completely accidental.”
“I would never intend to do something like that on purpose,” Miller wrote. “It goes against everything I am as a person and player. I felt awful about it.”
The 23-year-old also thanked Doughty for giving him the opportunity to apologize after the game. Miller was given a match penalty and ejected late in the first period, and the Rangers played the remainder of their 5-2 victory down to five defensemen. MAPLE LEAFS UP ANTE WITH TRADE >> Kyle Dubas made it clear he was not reacting to trades by division rivals in making the Toronto Maple Leafs' latest move.
They certainly all go hand in hand in a competitive Eastern Conference.
The Leafs acquired forward Sam Lafferty and defenseman Jake McCabe from Chicago on Monday, in the aftermath of division-rival Tampa Bay making another pre-deadline splash and not long after
NHL-leading Boston added size and toughness to bulk up for the playoffs.
Toronto sent a conditional 2025 first-round pick, a second-rounder in 2026, prospect Pavel Gogolev and forward Joey Anderson to the Blackhawks for Lafferty, McCabe and conditional fifthround picks in 2024 and `25. Chicago is retaining half of McCabe's salary.
Dubas, in his fifth season as Leafs general manager, said talks with Chicago counterpart Kyle Davidson predated trades by the Lightning and Bruins, but isn't downplaying the value of keeping up knowing how difficult the first couple of rounds will be this spring.
“We have to focus on ourselves and worry about ourselves and know it's going to be really tough,” Dubas told reporters in Seattle. “We've been through it before, and we know that these are elite, elite competitors.”
The Leafs look to again be on a crash course to face the Lightning in the first round of the playoffs, after losing to them in a sevengame series last year. Tampa Bay on Sunday paid a hefty price for forward Tanner Jeannot, sending young defenseman Cal Foote and five draft picks — including a first in 2025 — to Nashville. SENATORS 6, RED WINGS 4 >> Claude Giroux scored the tiebreaking goal and had three assists, Thomas Chabot had a goal and two assists and Ottawa beat visiting Detroit.
Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson and Jake Sanderson also scored to help Ottawa win its second straight.