Svechnikov-Getzlaf collision leaves Ducks — and fans — angry with the Hurricanes’ forward
Andrei Svechnikov was enemy No. 1 in Anaheim Sunday night, despite the Hurricanes and Ducks playing each other only twice per season.
The reason: A wayward leg in the second period that felled Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf and sent him tumbling to the ice near the penalty boxes.
Earlier in the game, Svechnikov was aggressive — as he usually is — and physical. The biggest of hits hits was a thunderous check on defender Kevin Shattenkirk far enough from the boards to send the veteran blueliner crashing first to the ice and then into the wall.
Getzlaf took exception to that hit, they jawed, but nothing came of it.
Later, with about 5:30 to play in the second, Getzlaf skated through the center zone and Svechnikov appeared to notice him late and reacted to slow him down — with his leg.
The contact sent both players tumbling. Getzlaf bounced up first and moved toward Svechnikov, but his teammates got there first. Play stopped and the teams converged near the officials’ circle in front of the penalty boxes.
In the scrum, Getzlaf, Gerry Mahew and Adam Henrique got some jabs in — Getzlaf landed a couple of glove-less punches around the linesmen, who were trying to control the situation. Seth Jarvis and Brett Pesce were among the players in the fracas for the Canes.
“He is not going gently into that good night, that is for sure,” Anaheim coach Dallas Eakins said of Getzlaf after the game. “That’s why you love him. His moral compass, and his character and his leadership are second to none. If you think he’s just going to go out there and twirl around for his last few games, you’re sadly mistaken. He’s going to go out swinging.”
Svechnikov was assessed a two-minute minor for tripping — the initial call — and Jarvis, Getzlaf, Mahew and Henrique all picked up roughing minors.
“I mean, it’s normal, he got mad,” Svechnikov said after the game. “Maybe I hit him, maybe not, but it’s normal.”
The fray sent hockey twitter into a fuss, with multiple people calling Svechnikov “dirty, “soft,” a “coward,” a “wuss,” and much worse.
“That was a lot more than an oops entanglement,” wrote Eric Stephens, who covers the Ducks for The Athletic. “Getzlaf ran hot but stayed short of going berserk.”
The game continued after the penalties — official let the Ducks’ contingent out from the box first, followed by the Canes players at the next stoppage — and there were no further incidents.
Svechnikov finished the game with a pair of points — a goal and an assist — in the Canes’ 5-2 win over the Ducks.
Getzlaf, the Ducks’ longtime captain who announced earlier this month he will retire at season’s end, was held pointless in his return to action from a foot injury, playing primarily third-line minutes.
This story was originally published April 10, 2022 at 8:57 PM.
