Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Tony DeAngelo is no stranger to controversy, on and off the ice. And on Wednesday, he added to his ledger of discipline after receiving a suspension from the NHL.
DeAngelo received a two-game suspension for spearing Tampa Bay Lightning forward Corey Perry on Tuesday night. The Flyers defenseman was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct.
The incident occurred with less than three games remaining in the game. Flyers forward James van Riemsdyk fired a shot on goal that was saved by Andrei Vasilevskiy. Following that, a scrum formed in front of the Lightning goal.
DeAngelo skated over toward Perry and jabbed his stick into the Lightning forward. Perry went down, and the rest of the Lightning players went after the Flyers defenseman.
DeAngelo admitted after the game he intended to jab Perry. The move came in response to the Lightning forward trying to slash his stick earlier in the game. DeAngelo said he challenged Perry to a fight, but it was declined.
“Replay probably looks a bit worse than it was meant to be,” DeAngelo said of the incident. “But it is what it is. I took 30 punches on the ground, and when I get up, they don’t let me do what I got to do. So it’s whatever.”
Philadelphia is having a rough season this year. The Flyers have won just two of their last 10 games, and are seventh in the Metropolitan Division. The team is the third worst in the Eastern Conference by record, ahead of the Montreal Canadiens and Columbus Blue Jackets.
This is the second suspension DeAngelo has received in his NHL career. However, the Flyers defenseman received three suspensions in his junior hockey career. That includes a suspension for violating the Ontario Hockey League's Harassment and Abuse/Diversity Policy.
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