Evgeni Malkin to have hearing over incident with Michael Raffl

Evgeni Malkin will have a hearing with the NHL on Tuesday over his incident with Michael Raffl that resulted in a match penalty.

Malkin was bothered by Raffl giving him a cross check and punch in the back of the head during the third period of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. In response, Malkin whipped his stick behind him towards Raffl’s head.

Here is the Malkin match penalty. But Raffl punched him in the head which was ignored. Still, Malkin can’t lose control like that. pic.twitter.com/UeySME7ybh

— Bob Pompeani (@KDPomp) February 12, 2019

Malkin received a match penalty, which put Philly on the power play for the final five minutes of the game.

“I’m not trying to like hit his face,” Malkin said after the game, via NHL.com. “I know I’m not playing smart then, like five minutes left. … I know it gives them five-minute power play, but it’s my fault for sure. Play smart next time.”

The league’s player safety department announced that Malkin would have a hearing over the play.

Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin will have a hearing Tuesday for High-sticking/Slashing Philadelphia’s Michael Raffl.

— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) February 12, 2019

Malkin, who just returned from a five-game absence, has never been suspended during his NHL career. He also had a controversial hit in November. We will see whether he gets disciplined this time.