Tuesday night, hot-headed Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Tony DeAngelo caused a stir around the hockey world after spearing Tampa Bay Lightning forward Corey Perry in the groin.
Now he’s facing the consequences.
DeAngelo has been suspended two games, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced Wednesday. His next opportunity to suit up for a game will come Tuesday against the Vegas Golden Knights at Wells Fargo Center.
DeAngelo was assessed a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for his low blow on Perry. When speaking to the media after the game, DeAngelo claimed he did not intend to spear Perry in his nether regions.
But he also didn’t exactly seem apologetic.
“He tried to slash my stick out of my hands a second beforehand. He talks all game. I asked him to fight. Doesn’t want to fight. He’ll tell you that he’s asked me to fight for years. I don’t say no,” said DeAngelo.
“I wasn’t trying to give him a shot. The replay probably looks a little bit worse than it was meant to be, but it is what it is. I took 30 punches on the ground, and when I get up they don’t let me do what I gotta do. So it’s whatever.”
DeAngelo leads all Flyers defensemen in every major statistical category with 10 goals, 24 assists and 34 points on the season. And for a team that already has its fair share of struggles in the scoring department, goals will now be even harder to come by with DeAngelo out of action for the next pair of tilts.
The Flyers face off against the Carolina Hurricanes Thursday night in Raleigh, then take on the Pittsburgh Penguins for a matinee game on Saturday.
