The National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety will not be levying any supplemental discipline against Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Strome as a result of his knee-on-knee hit with Winnipeg Jets star forward Kyle Connor on Sunday night at the Honda Center.
The incident took place at the 27-second mark of the second period in front of the Ducks net when Strome appeared to attempt to deliver a shoulder check on Connor, who was skating from right to left after firing a backhand shot at Anaheim goalie John Gibson.
The veteran Ducks forward eventually received a five-minute major and game misconduct following a review of the play, in addition to a five-minute fighting major with Mark Scheifele of the Jets, who confronted Strome immediately after the collision.
“Except in rare cases, it has been the policy of the Department of Player Safety since its inception in 2011 not to comment on plays for which it does not assess supplemental discipline,” an NHL spokesperson told Global News via email in response to a request for an explanation of the decision.
Connor remained on the ice at the edge of the Anaheim crease for a few minutes, clutching at his right knee, before being helped to the bench by teammates Nikolaj Ehlers and Josh Morrissey.
The NHL’s fourth-leading goal scorer did not return for the remainder of the game.
There has been no update from the Jets regarding Connor’s status, but the hockey club has confirmed Connor is having an MRI in San Jose on Monday on his injured right knee.
Winnipeg scored four unanswered goals in the third period of Sunday’s game to defeat Anaheim 4-2 and move into first place in the NHL Central Division ahead of Colorado and Dallas.
The Jets continue their final road trip before Christmas Tuesday night in San Jose.