Should Ryan Johansen be suspended for this hit on Tyson Barrie? (Yes)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The NHL on Thursday suspended star Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty for an elbow to the head of Vegas Golden Knights forward William Carrier in a playoff game the night before. In Game 1 of the Avalanche’s series with the Nashville Predators Thursday night, first-line center Ryan Johansen laid an identical-looking hit on the Avs’ Tyson Barrie.

Will the NHL suspend Johansen now?

We’ll likely find out Friday.

Unlike on the Doughty hit on Carrier, which earned him a one-game suspension, there was no penalty called on Johansen. Here’s the hit:

Another angle of the hit on Barriehttps://t.co/1uWrBJ7i2a

— Nathan Rudolph (@AvalancheReview) April 13, 2018

Here’s the hit by Doughty on Carrier. Can anyone point out the differences between the two?

William Carrier Injured On Hit Delivered By Drew Doughty. Legal Hit? https://t.co/Kk9t5FqWzf

— SabresBuzz (@SabresBuzz) April 12, 2018

The hit came just after Barrie took a shot from the right circle, a good scoring chance. Johansen clearly hits Barrie in the head with an elbow. Barrie went down and was slow going to the bench. He did return to the game soon after, however. Could the fact Barrie might have escaped serious injury (though concussions can be delayed in producing symptoms) deter the NHL’s Department of Player Safety from suspending one of Nashville’s most important players?

With the DoPS, you never know. But it figures to be a hot topic of conversation among Avs fans, players and coaches in the next day or so.

Since I can have opinions at times, I think it should definitely be a suspension. It was a dangerous hit to the head. Just because Barrie played on doesn’t negate what Johansen did. And, the Avs should have gotten a minimum, two-minute minor out of it. If the league suspended Doughty for that hit on Carrier, it should punish Johansen for doing the exact same thing.

Barrie apparently hadn’t seen the replay of the hit on him, when asked about it after the game by BSN Denver. But here’s what he had to say:

“Yeah, it hurt. It hurt, for sure. But that’s up to the league and I’m sure they’ll make the right call, whatever that is,” Barrie said.

Here’s what Jared Bednar had to say about it:

“Yeah, I saw the hit. Yeah, it looks like he got some of his head there, coming across, for sure,” Bednar said. “It’s a good thing he was OK and could continue playing.”