- Andrew Cristall was ejected from Monday’s Capitals-Flyers preseason game in Hershey for cross-checking Hunter McDonald in the face
- He took a five-minute major and a 10-minute game misconduct with 7:07 left in the second period
- Read below for the video, what set it off, and why the Department of Player Safety may get involved
Andrew Cristall’s preseason debut never made it to the third period.
He took a five-minute major and a 10-minute game misconduct on Monday night for cross-checking Flyers defenseman Hunter McDonald in the face, and his night ended with 7:07 left in the second at Giant Center in Hershey.
It started when McDonald ran Ryan Leonard hard into the boards in the Washington offensive zone. Cristall came off the wall and got McDonald up high with a leaping cross-check, and the corner turned into a pile of bodies.
Watch the whole sequence:
McDonald was slow to get up but stayed in the game. Leonard skated away from the original hit without any trouble.
Player Safety has plenty to look at here. A cross-check that high, thrown with that much intent, is the kind of play that draws a phone call from the league office, and a one- or two-game ban would sting more than usual this fall. The new CBA trimmed the exhibition schedule, so Cristall does not have many auditions left.
Leonard had already put Washington in front before any of it happened, beating Joseph Woll with 42 seconds to go in the first.
Check out the goal that made it 2-1:
Washington handed Leonard an eight-year, $84 million extension on Sept. 15, which ties him with Alex Tuch for the biggest cap hit on the roster. Sticking up for that guy is not the worst instinct for a kid fighting over one of the final forward spots on the Opening Night roster.
Cristall put up 20 goals and 40 assists in 72 games for the Hershey Bears last season, third-most points among AHL rookies. He still has not played an NHL regular season game.
The Capitals won 5-2. Cristall watched the last 27 minutes of it from the room.
