Report: Tkachuk avoids suspension for instigator
Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk will not face a suspension for his late-game instigator penalty on Tuesday, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports.
Garrioch notes that Senators head coach DJ Smith also will not be fined over the incident. He was previously facing a $10,000 penalty.
Smtih said after Tuesday's 6-4 to the Buffalo Sabres that the Senators would appeal the one-game suspension automatically applied for an instigator penalty in the final five minutes of a game.
Tkachuk fought Alex Tuch after being clipped by the Sabres winger while skating out of his team's zone without the puck with 3:10 left on the clock.
The 24-year-old winger received a two-minute instigator penalty and a 10-minute misconduct in addition to the fighting major.
"I know what the rule is for, at the end when you send guys out [specifically to fight]," Smith said postgame. "I don't see that situation at all. I see a guy that went out of his way to hit him dirty, and he sticks up for himself.
"The league will make that call and let us know, but I see that not what the rule is intended for."
Tkachuk, who was held without a point in 20:25 of ice time against the Sabres, has four goals and six points in six games this season.
He was previously at risk of missing Thursday's game against the New York Islanders.
The Senators, who last made the playoffs in 2017, dropped to 3-3-0 on the early season with Tuesday's loss.