Ottawa Senators forward Drake Batherson will miss out on his first NHL All-Star Game appearance, sidelined by a dirty hit from Sabres goaltender Aaron Dell on Tuesday night.
Dell elbowed Batherson as he was chasing a player around the back of the net in the first period of a 5-0 Senators win. Batherson suffered an ankle injury, falling into the boards. on Wednesday, Dell was suspended for 3 games, while Batherson is out long-term.
Aaron Dell’s hit on Drake Batherson left the Senators forward sidelined with an ankle injury and out of the NHL All-Star Game. TSN“It’s a bad play by the goalie,” Senators coach D.J. Smith told reporters. “He’s done it before.”
The NHL named Brady Tkachuk as Batherson’s replacement for the All-Star game.
Senators right wing Drake Batherson (19) is escorted off the ice after sliding into the boards. USA Today Sports“Quite frankly, it was just a bulls–t play,” Tkachuk said. “What happened was unnecessary and dirty. You just feel for [Drake]. He’s put in so much work to get to where he’s at. It definitely sucks.”
Dell has a history of taking cheap shots, having made a similar play on Mark Stone while with the Sharks in 2019. He also took an interference penalty a couple of weeks ago against Nashville, and swung his skate at Calgary’s Sam Bennett.
Aaron Dell has been involved in a number of dirty hits in recent seasons. AP Photo“I see replays of him at other times, running out and hitting players,” Smith said. “It’s a pattern.”
The Senators were uniformly outraged by Dell. The ex-Devils goalie said he wasn’t trying to hurt anyone and hoped Batherson was OK.
“I don’t like calling out other goalies, but [a player] is not expecting to get hit by a goalie,” Senators netminder Matt Murray said. “Just like when a goalie comes out to play the puck, you can’t hit him. I just thought it was a dangerous play that turned out to be a really unfortunate result.”
