Still no word on Minnesota Wild forward Marcus Johansson’s ribs after he was the victim of a cheap cross-check by Winnipeg’s Neal Pionk in the final minute of Tuesday’s game between the Central Division rivals, but Pionk has heard from the NHL’s player safety committee.
Pionk, who starred at Hermantown High School more than a decade ago before suiting up for the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs, was fined $5,000 for the illegal cross-check. That’s the maximum fine allowed under the collective bargaining agreement.
Neal Pionk with a brutal cross-check to the ribs of Marcus Johansson#GoJetsGo | #mnwild pic.twitter.com/z1Ci9UZ26G
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) April 12, 2023
The illegal check, which garnered a major penalty, left Johansson crumpled on the ice and slow to the bench in what was a chippy final 60 seconds between Minnesota and Winnipeg. Wild head coach Dean Evason condemned the dirty play.
“We want to play hard, and we want to play right — we don’t want to play like that,” Evason said. “That’s just stupid at the end. What for? What for? Like, play hard. If you want to fight, then fight. All the cheap stuff is wrong. Our group will fight if we want to fight. But the cheap stuff right now with one game to go before the playoffs? We’ve got a guy that might be out. He gets a cheap five-minute major at the end of a hockey game?
“It’s stupid. It makes no sense. It’s frustrating, for sure. Like I said, if you want to fight, fight. Great. Drop your gloves and fight. That’s what it’s there for. The cheap crap is not good.”
Minnesota has one game left before the playoffs and they will start the postseason on the road against Dallas or Colorado. Because the Wild are essentially locked into third in the Central Division, star players are expected to be held out of Thursday’s finale at Nashville, which allowed Minnesota to call up Sammy Walker and Nick Swaney from the AHL.
