Flyers

Shayne Gostisbehere Has NHL Hearing for Boarding Mark Friedman

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: May 5th, 2021 · 10:09 AM EDT

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Flyers news:

Philadelphia’s Shayne Gostisbehere will have a hearing today for Boarding Pittsburgh’s Mark Friedman.

— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) May 5, 2021

You probably turned off the game before this happened, and went to watch the paint dry, or the linoleum curl, or something more productive than seeing the Flyers get their doors blown off again.

But here’s the video of the hit, which took place near the end of the third period, when Friedman was hitting an empty netter:

NHL Player Safety plans to fine Shayne Gostisbehere $7.25, the federal minimum, for this dangerous hit on Mark Friedman pic.twitter.com/3x90RZqhzq

— Spring Forward Jim (@SportsingJim) May 5, 2021

It seems like most of the responses go something like this, which was Tweeted out by a guy named Rob:

“Lol have hearing on this but Tom Wilson gets yet ANOTHER free pass from the NHL when he not only slammed a guy’s head into the ice but pulls a guy’s hair to bring him down in the same sequence of events. Yes was cheap shot but not hearing worthy, just a fine”

That’s the sentiment being shared. This hit was late and not necessary, but Wilson also did not need to punch a guy in the back of the head and grab Mika Zibanejad by the hair and slam him into the ice, 10 seconds later. Wilson walked away with a $5k fine.

So it’s less about Ghost and more about consistency. NHL fans at large, not just Flyers fans, have not had a very high opinion of the Department of Player Safety, and the Ghost/Wilson discrepancy here just adds more fuel to an already-raging dumpster inferno.