Senators' forward faces hearing and possible suspension after hit leaves Brandt Clarke injured
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Senators winger Hayden Hodgson is expected to face a Player Safety hearing after his major for boarding Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke, who left hurt.
Update: The hearing has been confirmed.
Hayden Hodgson is in real trouble, and the league is about to decide how much.
The Ottawa Senators winger was thrown out of Thursday's game against the Los Angeles Kings after a hit on defenseman Brandt Clarke.
It happened at 11:15 of the second period at Crypto.com Arena.
Hodgson came across the ice at speed and sent Clarke hard into the boards.
He got a five-minute major for boarding plus a game misconduct.
Clarke was slow to get up, and the Kings announced he would not return with an upper-body injury.
Things got ugly fast. Kings forward Erik Haula took a roughing minor in the scrum, but Los Angeles still ended up with the power play, and Artemi Panarin scored on it to make it 5-1.
Ottawa fought all the way back, though, and the Kings needed overtime to win after blowing a four-goal lead.
Hearing expected today
Now the focus shifts to the league office.
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports the expectation is that Hodgson will meet with the Department of Player Safety today, and a suspension is on the table.
No decision has been announced yet, and there is no update on how long Clarke could be sidelined.
Hodgson's track record
The history won't help his case.
Hodgson, 30, has played just 24 NHL games, 17 of them with the Senators.
He built his reputation as a physical presence in the AHL with Belleville, where he was suspended several times.
He was also fined $2,018.23, the maximum allowed, for boarding Montreal's Alex Newhook last preseason.
Clarke is a big piece of the Kings blue line after signing a five-year, $37 million extension, so Los Angeles will be watching closely.
Ottawa now waits to see whether the league goes further than the officials did.
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