- Brayden McNabb has a Player Safety hearing today for interference on Ryan Poehling
- The first-period check left Poehling with an upper-body injury that ended his night
- Read below for what the timing means with Game 6 looming Thursday in Anaheim
Brayden McNabb’s status for Game 6 just got a lot more complicated.
The NHL Department of Player Safety announced Wednesday that the Vegas Golden Knights defenseman has a hearing today for interference against Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Poehling.
McNabb’s check came 9:00 into the first period of Tuesday’s 3-2 overtime win in Game 5 at T-Mobile Arena. He stepped up well after Poehling had moved the puck and caught the Anaheim center along the boards.
Poehling’s head snapped back into the glass. He went down hard, tried to stand, and went right back down. Teammates helped him to the locker room, and Anaheim ruled him out for the night with an upper-body injury.
Officials gave McNabb a five-minute major for interference and a game misconduct on the play.
Watch the hit:
A hearing in place of a fine usually means a suspension is on the table. McNabb has been one of Vegas’ most reliable blueliners since the franchise’s first day in the league, and yanking him out of the rotation for Game 6 (or longer) would force Vegas to reshuffle pairings at the worst possible moment.
Vegas leads the series 3-2 after Pavel Dorofeyev’s overtime winner Tuesday. Game 6 is Thursday night in Anaheim, with the Knights one win away from the Western Conference Final.
Player Safety has been busy this round, including handing Charlie McAvoy six games for his slash on Zach Benson earlier in the week. We’ll have the McNabb ruling once it drops.
