Edmonton Oilers forward Sam Carrick was handed a roughly $2,000 fine for a slash on Florida Panthers defenceman Dmitri Kulikov in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday. Meanwhile, Leon Draisaitl will reportedly avoid supplemental discipline for his high hit on Alexander Barkov.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
This is going to be the only supplemental discipline from Game 2 <a href="https://t.co/vTh2A4msea">https://t.co/vTh2A4msea</a>
&mdash; Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) <a href="https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1800605577518686441?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Carrick&#8217;s fine was due to a slash he dished out to Kulikov in retaliation for a hit received moments prior. The slash went in between Kulikov&#8217;s legs, which is likely why the infraction was raised to require the maximum payment under the CBA of $2,213.54. This could have been a lot more painful had it been a more direct connection so <a href="https://x.com/GinoHard_/status/1800365246726684950" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the fine is a fair punishment for the play in question</a>.
As for Draisaitl, the lack of a suspension is no surprise given <a href="https://x.com/renlavoietva/status/1800570027948794243?s=42" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the report made by Renaud Lavoie this morning</a> that this was the likely outcome. Draisaitl should be lucky that he won&#8217;t be missing any games because the hit looks quite dangerous when watching it back.
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Draisaitl with the dirty hit to Barkov’s head. Think this deserved more than 2? 
 <a href="https://t.co/9PbZw1Eipd">pic.twitter.com/9PbZw1Eipd</a>
&mdash; Drew Livingstone (@ProducerDrew_) <a href="https://twitter.com/ProducerDrew_/status/1800360502067175780?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2024</a></blockquote>
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As bad as the hit looks (which included Draisiatl&#8217;s feet coming off the ice), DailyFaceoff&#8217;s Frank Seravalli felt that the hit was not worthy of a suspension as he felt it was a routine collision with an unfortunate outcome.
&#8220;I think my biggest concern about the hit was Draisaitl leaving his feet,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/jlazzy23/status/1800571792861618337?s=46" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he said on a recent appearance of Morning Cuppa Hockey</a>. &#8220;As you guys know, having been high-level hockey players, it&#8217;s really natural for your feet to leave the ice surface after making contact, which is, as Colby pointed out, I believe exactly what happens here.&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;ll offer you two things: One, I don&#8217;t love the arm contact and placement and where that connects, but that is as routine as it gets when it comes to a hit in the NHL, so that&#8217;s not suspendable. That brings me to my second point, which is this: if you have to squint really hard and try and find a reason to suspend a player, I can tell you almost for certainty that that player is not getting suspended when it comes to a Stanley Cup Final.&#8221;
Barkov left Game 2 after this collision. While Panthers coach <a href="https://www.nhl.com/panthers/news/injury-barkov-felt-better-today-after-high-hit-in-game-2-win-over-oilers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paul Maurice provided an update earlier today</a> that the Finnish centreman was making good progress, his status for Game 3 on Thursday remains up in the air at this time.
The physicality in this series so far has been a major focal point and the Oilers have certainly gotten their hands full in trying to adjust to it. If they wish to avoid going down 3-0 in the Finals, they will have to weather that storm while also trying to solve Sergei Bobrovsky who has been lights out through the first 120 minutes of this series.
Game 3 is taking place in Edmonton on Thursday night, where you can catch the action on Sportsnet for a 6 p.m. MDT start.

Edmonton Oilers forward Sam Carrick was handed a roughly $2,000 fine for a slash on Florida Panthers defenceman Dmitri Kulikov in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday. Meanwhile, Leon Draisaitl will reportedly avoid supplemental discipline for his high hit on Alexander Barkov.



https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1800605577518686441

Carrick's fine was due to a slash he dished out to Kulikov in retaliation for a hit received moments prior. The slash went in between Kulikov's legs, which is likely why the infraction was raised to require the maximum payment under the CBA of $2,213.54. This could have been a lot more painful had it been a more direct connection so <a href="https://x.com/GinoHard_/status/1800365246726684950" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the fine is a fair punishment for the play in question</a>.

As for Draisaitl, the lack of a suspension is no surprise given <a href="https://x.com/renlavoietva/status/1800570027948794243?s=42" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the report made by Renaud Lavoie this morning</a> that this was the likely outcome. Draisaitl should be lucky that he won't be missing any games because the hit looks quite dangerous when watching it back.

https://twitter.com/ProducerDrew_/status/1800360502067175780

As bad as the hit looks (which included Draisiatl's feet coming off the ice), DailyFaceoff's Frank Seravalli felt that the hit was not worthy of a suspension as he felt it was a routine collision with an unfortunate outcome.

"I think my biggest concern about the hit was Draisaitl leaving his feet," <a href="https://twitter.com/jlazzy23/status/1800571792861618337?s=46" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he said on a recent appearance of Morning Cuppa Hockey</a>. "As you guys know, having been high-level hockey players, it's really natural for your feet to leave the ice surface after making contact, which is, as Colby pointed out, I believe exactly what happens here."

"I'll offer you two things: One, I don't love the arm contact and placement and where that connects, but that is as routine as it gets when it comes to a hit in the NHL, so that's not suspendable. That brings me to my second point, which is this: if you have to squint really hard and try and find a reason to suspend a player, I can tell you almost for certainty that that player is not getting suspended when it comes to a Stanley Cup Final."

Barkov left Game 2 after this collision. While Panthers coach <a href="https://www.nhl.com/panthers/news/injury-barkov-felt-better-today-after-high-hit-in-game-2-win-over-oilers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paul Maurice provided an update earlier today</a> that the Finnish centreman was making good progress, his status for Game 3 on Thursday remains up in the air at this time.

The physicality in this series so far has been a major focal point and the Oilers have certainly gotten their hands full in trying to adjust to it. If they wish to avoid going down 3-0 in the Finals, they will have to weather that storm while also trying to solve Sergei Bobrovsky who has been lights out through the first 120 minutes of this series.

Game 3 is taking place in Edmonton on Thursday night, where you can catch the action on Sportsnet for a 6 p.m. MDT start.

Oilers’ Sam Carrick fined for slash, Leon Draisaitl will not face discipline for hit on Barkov

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