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Greg Wyshynski, ESPN
Arizona Coyotes forward Jason Zucker was given a hearing by the NHL Department of Player Safety on Wednesday for boarding/interference on Florida Panthers forward Nick Cousins.
In Tuesday’s game, Cousins delivered a hit to Panthers defenseman Juuso Valimaki while Valimaki was on one knee against the side boards. Zucker saw the play, skated over and delivered a check to the back of Cousins, driving his head against the glass.
That led to a fight between Florida’s Gustav Forsling and Zucker, who was given a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct. Forsling received an instigator penalty. The incident occurred at 19:09 of the second period during Florida’s 4-1 win at Mullett Arena.
Panthers coach Paul Maurice on Wednesday said Cousins is in the concussion protocol.
The Cousins hit that preceded Zucker’s actions did not rise to the level of either a penalty in the game or supplemental discipline from the NHL — despite outrage from fans who watched on replay that appeared to show Cousins taking a run at a vulnerable Valimaki.
A reverse angle showed Cousins had little time to adjust his angle of approach as Valimaki dropped to the ice. The force of the hit itself wasn’t substantial enough to warrant either a penalty or an NHL hearing.
Valimaki remained in the game and played nine shifts in the third period for Arizona.
Cousins is one of the NHL’s most divisive players — an agitator known for his trash-talking and aggressive play.
Last month, Cousins was involved in an incident with Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Erik Gudbranson on another borderline hit. Cousins drove Gudbranson’s head into the end boards on a hit that was initially ruled a five-minute major for boarding but reviewed down to a minor penalty. Gudbranson was suspended one game by NHL Player Safety for going after Cousins following the hit.