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Sean Durzi has just created himself a headache, and possibly a suspension hearing, in the middle of Game 1 between Utah and Vegas on Sunday night.
The Utah defenseman threw a clear headbutt at Rasmus Andersson while the officials had a direct line of sight on the play.
You can't give the league office a cleaner piece of video than that.
A headbutt is usually a 5-minute major and a game misconduct under the rulebook.
The question now isn't whether Durzi gets called on it. It's whether the Department of Player Safety wants to see him again on Tuesday.
Supplementary discipline is very much on the table.
Discipline becomes the subplot as Utah and Vegas open their first-round series
Here's the clip from Sportsnet. Watch the linesman's eyes the moment it happens. There's no ambiguity.
Playoff intensity is one thing. Targeting an opponent's head in a stopped-puck situation is another, and referees are paid to know the difference.
Andersson isn't a player you pick for a stunt like that either. He's a Vegas veteran and exactly the type of defender who has the respect of the room.
His teammates are going to want an answer on the next shift.
Utah's head coach will get the first uncomfortable question about this, and there's really no good answer.
Losing a top-four defender to a suspension inside Game 1 of your first playoff series isn't the start anyone in the organization envisioned.
Vegas, for its part, will take the power play and move on.
The game is still in progress as this is being written. What isn't in progress is the decision at the league office.
Someone there is already clipping the video, because a headbutt in April never sits on a desk for long.
Durzi's next skate might not be in the playoffs at all. It might be in front of a computer screen with Player Safety on the other end.
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