Avalanche's Cale Makar suspended one playoff game for hit on Kraken's Jared McCann
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - APRIL 24: Jared McCann #19 of the Seattle Kraken is helped off the ice after a check against the Colorado Avalanche during the first period in Game Four of the First Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Climate Pledge Arena
SEATTLE - The NHL is suspending Colorado defenseman Cale Makar for one playoff game after a hit on Seattle's leading scorer Jared McCann.
The Kraken lost McCann to an injury in the first period of Game 4 against Colorado on Monday night.
Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said after the Kraken's 3-2 overtime victory that McCann would not play in Game 5 on Wednesday night and assumes he'll be out longer than that.
"Late hit. Really late. No puck in play. Our 40-goal scorer not available for the rest of the game," Hakstol said.
McCann was down on the ice for several minutes before being helped to the bench and headed straight back to the Seattle locker room.
"When you see a guy go down like as a teammate it’s frustrating and you want to do what you can for him," Seattle's Jaden Schwartz said.
McCann was hurt on a short-handed attempt midway through the first period. The shot was saved by Colorado goalie Alexandar Georgiev and appeared to go into the netting behind the goal. McCann did not seem ready for the hit by Makar.
Makar said it was "unfortunate," and hoped McCann was OK.
"It was a hockey play. I’m assuming he was going to the corner because it was coming down. I didn’t really look. Just unfortunate how that happened," Makar said.
Makar was originally given a 5-minute major penalty but it was reduced to a 2-minute minor. Seattle scored on the ensuing power play to take a 2-0 lead.
Hakstol disagreed with the assessment by the officials that reduced the severity of the penalty.
"I disagree with that, obviously, as I assessed it and looked at it live and for sure looking at it after on video," he said.
McCann led Seattle with a career-high 40 goals and 70 points in the regular season. He had one assist in the first three games of the series.