A scary scene developed during ECHL action Friday.
A game between the Quad City Mallards and the Tulsa Oilers - a St. Louis Blues affiliate - was postponed after Oilers coach and former NHL forward Rob Murray suffered a medical emergency during the second period.
.@tulsa_oilers head coach Rob Murray leaves the bench area on a stretcher after needing medical attention, Friday, November 17, 2017, during the second period against the @myqcmallards at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline. The game was suspended and will be played at a later date. pic.twitter.com/sOrrm8Pc44
Murray, 50, appeared in 107 NHL games and spent the majority of his career in the AHL. He previously served as head coach of the ECHL's Alaska Aces, leading the team to a league championship in 2013-14.
Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Radko Gudas will have a phone hearing Sunday after waiving his right to an in-person meeting with the NHL's Department of Player Safety, the league announced.
Due to the timing of the hearing, Gudas will not play Saturday against Calgary, per John Shannon of Sportsnet. The missed game will be factored into the looming suspension.
Gudas was assessed a major penalty and a game misconduct for slashing Winnipeg's Mathieu Perreault in the head at 9:50 of the first period Wednesday against the Jets.
Here's a look at the incident:
The offer of an in-person hearing generally indicates a suspension of at least five games.
Tkachuk was assessed a five-minute major for spearing and a game misconduct after striking the back of Luke Witkowski's leg with his stick, thereby inciting a line brawl.
Witkowski was heading to the locker room at the time, as a result of a game misconduct of his own, and has since received a 10-game suspension in accordance with NHL Rule 70.6.
This marks the second suspension of Tkachuk's young career after he sat two games in 2016 for elbowing Los Angeles' Drew Doughty.
Subban had missed 11 games with a lower-body injury.
In a subsequent move, the Golden Knights assigned 19-year-old Dylan Ferguson to the WHL's Kamloops Blazers. Ferguson played nine minutes Tuesday against the Edmonton Oilers following an injury to starter Maxime Lagace.
As for Subban, he returns to the crease after appearing in just three games with Vegas, who claimed him off waivers from the Boston Bruins last month. Subban has two wins and a .936 save percentage since joining Vegas.
The Golden Knights' next game is Sunday against the Los Angeles Kings, and Subban is a good bet to get the call between the pipes.
While Subban has returned from injury, the team is still waiting on a clean bill of health for goaltenders Marc-Andre Fleury and Oscar Dansk. Dansk left an Oct. 30 contest against the New York Islanders with a lower-body injury, while Fleury hasn't played since Oct. 13 after suffering a concussion.
The Golden Knights sit second place in the Pacific Division with an 11-6-1 record through 18 games.
Luke Witkowski might want to brush up on the NHL rule book.
The Detroit Red Wings winger was suspended 10 games - based on Rule 70.6 - for his role in a brawl that took place during Wednesday's tilt with the Calgary Flames. The rule reads as follows:
Any player who has been ordered to the dressing room by the officials and returns to his bench or to the ice surface for any reason before the appropriate time shall be assessed a game misconduct and shall be suspended automatically without pay for the next ten (10) regular League and/or Play-off games.
Witkowski was making his way to the locker room with a game misconduct following a fight with Brett Kulak when he was speared in the back of the legs by Matt Tkachuk, prompting him to return to the ice and kick off a further ruckus.
He now admits he would have done things differently if he knew the impending punishment for his actions.
"It's unfortunate," Witkowski said Friday, per the Wings' website. "Honestly, I didn't know that was a rule. I obviously, I know now. I knew it was a rule you couldn't jump the boards. It's kind of a gray area with still being on the bench and the door being open. But lesson learned, I guess. Move on from here."
Detroit head coach Jeff Blashill added he doesn't believe the punishment fits the crime, and the NHL should have taken into account the fact Tkachuk - who could also be further disciplined for his action - initiated the incident.
Per Cap Friendly, Witkowski will forfeit $40,322.58 in salary as a result of the suspension, and can return to the lineup on Dec. 11.
Montreal Canadiens owner Geoff Molson told the city's chamber of commerce Friday he would be supportive if the NHL wanted a team in Quebec City, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.
Molson was adamant that the club wouldn't ask for any additional compensation if a franchise were to move into their territory.
Geoff Molson emphatically says the @CanadiensMTL would not seek any relocation or expansion compensation from a Quebec City franchise beyond their portion of those revenues from the NHL.
Quebec City hasn't housed an NHL club since the Quebec Nordiques were relocated in May of 1995 and became the Colorado Avalanche.
There has been a strong movement in support of the NHL expanding to Quebec and an official bid was made in 2015 before the league ultimately decided on Las Vegas instead.
The return of a franchise to Quebec City could reignite a heated rivalry with the Canadiens.
The club made his seven-year, $41.125-million extension official Friday, meaning he's now under contract with Columbus through the 2024-25 campaign.
Atkinson is in the final season of the three-year, $10.5-million deal he signed with the Blue Jackets in the spring of 2015.
The 28-year-old forward ranks second on the franchise's all-time goals list (125) behind Rick Nash (289), and is coming off a career year in which he poured in 35 goals and 62 points while playing all 82 games.
Atkinson has notched at least 20 goals in each of the last four seasons, and his goal production has improved in each of the last three campaigns.
He has four goals and six points in 15 games so far this fall.
As Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman points out, an in-person hearing gives the NHL the option to suspend him for five or more games.
Gudas is a repeat offender, having been suspended during the preseason on Oct. 10 of last year for interference on Boston Bruins forward Austin Czarnik.
This week, NHL.com unveiled its semifinal matchups as it looks to crown the greatest moment in NHL history as part of the league's 100-year celebration.
Fans have voted on their favorites in a 64-moment bracket-style system. One semifinal pits Wayne Gretzky reaching the 50-goal mark in his 39th game against Mario Lemieux scoring five different goals in one game, while the other is a faceoff between Bobby Orr's historic overtime winner in the 1970 Stanley Cup Final and Teemu Selanne setting the NHL rookie goals record.
All four are worthy candidates, but there can only be one winner. Below, we remove the matchup tags and rank the four remaining moments:
4. Selanne lights up NHL in rookie season
Teemu Selanne burst onto the scene during the 1992-93 season, needing very little time to adjust to the pace of the NHL.
He began scoring at a rapid pace, and on March 2, 1993 - following a hat trick against the Quebec Nordiques - he eclipsed Mike Bossy's rookie record of 53 goals in a season.
The young Fin then acted out his memorable celebration of throwing his glove into the air and using his stick as a gun to shoot at it.
Selanne went on to score 76 goals and 132 points - both rookie records that remain intact.
3. Lemieux does it all
On New Year's Eve, 1988, Lemieux proved he could do it all.
The Pittsburgh Penguins captain capped off an eight-point game against the New Jersey Devils by scoring goals at even strength, on the power play, shorthanded, on a penalty shot, and into an empty net, becoming the first and only player in NHL history to do so.
The game was the gem of Lemieux's season, in which he led the league in goals and points with 85 and 199, respectively.
2. Gretzky's untouchable scoring blitz
It's a record that, unless Nikita Kucherov kicks it up a notch, might never be matched.
On Dec. 23, 1981, after Game 37 on the season, Wayne Gretzky sat at 41 goals. Little did anyone know he'd hit the 50-goal plateau less than a week later.
Following a four-goal outing against the Los Angeles Kings on Dec. 27, Gretzky outdid himself two nights later against the Philadelphia Flyers. He collected six goals to become the fastest player to reach the 50-goal mark.
Gretzky went on to score an NHL-record 92 goals that season and total 212 points (the second-most in a single season).
1. Orr soars
It's the NHL's most iconic goal.
On May 10, 1970, in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, Bobby Orr scored the overtime winner just 40 seconds into the extra frame, putting the puck past St. Louis Blues netminder Glenn Hall on a perfectly executed give-and-go with Derek Sanderson.
The goal was made more memorable when, upon being tripped by defenseman Noel Picard, Orr jumped in celebration, giving birth to an unforgettable photo.
"As I skated across, Glenn had to move across the crease and had to open his pads a little," Orr said in Andrew Podnieks book, "The Goal: Bobby Orr and the Most Famous Shot in Stanley Cup History,"according to Sportsnet's Luke Fox. "I was really trying to get the puck on net, and I did. As I went across, Glenn's legs opened. I looked back, and I saw it go in, so I jumped."
The goal gave the Bruins their first Stanley Cup in 29 years, and a statue of Orr airborne now sits immortalized outside TD Garden.