Flyers’ Tony DeAngelo suspended two games for spearing Lightning’s Corey Perry

TAMPA — Flyers defenseman Tony DeAngelo received a two-game suspension for spearing Lightning forward Corey Perry in the third period of the Tampa Bay’s 5-2 win Tuesday night at Amalie Arena.

With the Lightning up 4-2 with 2:40 remaining, a crowd gathered in front of the Tampa Bay net after goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy covered the puck, prompting a whistle. Perry slashed down on DeAngelo’s stick in front of the net to guard his goaltender.

DeAngelo left the crowd, then circled back, skated into the group and ran the blade of his stick into Perry’s groin, dropping him to the ice in pain.

That prompted the Lightning’s other four skaters to fling off their gloves and chase DeAngelo down the ice and eventually dogpile on top of him. DeAngelo received a five-minute spearing major and 10-minute game misconduct penalty that means an automatic ejection.

The NHL’s department of player safety, which reviewed the play on Wednesday, determined that DeAngelo’s action warranted a two-game suspension because of “the premeditated nature of the foul against an unsuspecting opponent while after the whistle, the area of the body where the spear was delivered, and the force of the blow.”

DeAngelo had to be restrained by an official as he was escorted to the Flyers bench and off the ice while he jawed Perry and other Lightning players. The penalty led to a Tampa Bay power play, and it put the game away on Nikita Kucherov’s second goal of the night, making it 5-2.

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