Nashville Predators right wing Michael McCarron. Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

NHL punishes Predators forward for ugly hit on Canucks goaltender

By Paul Harris | Last updated 4/27/24

Nashville Predators forward Michael McCarron did what he usually does, but this time he will have to pay for it.

McCarron is 6-foot-6 and more than 230 pounds, and over a nine-season professional career, he has played 228 regular-season games with 23 goals, 48 points and 320 penalty minutes.

As hockeyfights.com shows, McCarron has a long history of fighting.

The kind of player that McCarron is should be obvious, but hitting the opposing goalie when he is out of the crease is still a no-no.

But that's what McCarron did Friday night in the Predators' 1-2 Game 3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. He ran over Canucks goalie Casey DeSmith behind the net in the first period and received a two-minute penalty for goalie interference.

On Saturday, the NHL's Department of Player Safety announced that McCarron has been fined $2,000 for the hit.

It is the second time in McCarron's career that he has received supplemental discipline.

On April 11, 2021, McCarron was suspended for two games and fined $12,068 for a check to the head of Yanni Gourde, then of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

McCarron, 29, played in a career-high 70 games during the regular season and had 12 goals and 10 assists for 22 points and 100 penalty minutes.

He has bounced back and forth between the NHL and the American Hockey League after being a first-round pick (25th overall) by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2013 NHL Draft.

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