Vegas Golden Knights blueliner Brayden McNabb may face some discipline from the NHL after his hit on Anaheim Ducks Ryan Poehling that knocked the center out of Game 5 of their playoff series.
But he shouldn’t. Despite the fact that he received a five-minute major penalty for interference AND a game misconduct, that was plenty of discipline. Perhaps the league will take that into account given that he missed much of the game, even though Poehling had to be helped off the ice and didn’t return due to an upper-body injury.
It’s because the hit itself. Take a look at it below — McNabb was late getting to Poehling, maybe finishing a check a few seconds after the puck was gone. But it’s not like McNabb has his elbow out or left his feet.
Brayden McNabb was given a game misconduct for interference on Ryan Poehling.
Poehling left the game with an apparent injury. pic.twitter.com/XQqtfbAARA
— ESPN (@espn) May 13, 2026
What Golden Knights coach John Tortorella said about the Brayden McNabb hit and penalty
John Tortorella when asked about the Brayden McNabb five-minute major and game misconduct:
“Don’t even ask me, please. No sense in talking about it. Did you see the hit on Coghlan at the end of the period? I just don’t get it.”#FlyTogether#ForgedInGold
— Derek Lee (@Derek_Lee27) May 13, 2026
I’m with you, Torts. It wasn’t THAT egregious.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Brayden McNabb late hit on Ryan Poehling doesn’t deserve NHL suspension