Columbus Blue Jackets left winger Dmitry Voronkov was the key player involved in an embarrassing mishap during Saturday's game in Washington when he continued to play after receiving a game misconduct.
With the Blue Jackets holding a comfortable 6-0 lead, Voronkov was given a game misconduct at the 10:20 mark of the third period, along with Capitals left winger Pierre-Luc Dubois and defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk. Apparently, however, neither Voronkov nor head coach Dean Evason realized that he had been kicked out of the game, so he was sent onto the ice for another shift. He positioned himself in front of the Capitals net during a power play when the officials noticed him on the ice and called time at the 12:10 mark of the period. With most people having trouble realizing what had happened, it resulted in an interesting explanation from referee Brian Pochmara, and we would be willing to bet that he has never been involved in a situation like this before.
That's a new one?! ðŸ˜
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) April 12, 2025
Dmitri Voronkov received a game misconduct earlier in the period but continued to play, and the officials just noticed and gave Columbus a minor penalty for having an illegal player 🫨 pic.twitter.com/I9dudHCohb
"Columbus number 10 received a 10-minute misconduct earlier in the period. He was no longer eligible and then he was on the ice, so there was an illegal player for Columbus on the ice. They have a minor penalty for an illegal player, and number 10 for Columbus is still removed from the hockey game."
We have seen unusual misconduct penalties over the years, but this may be the strangest minor penalty we have ever seen. Good thing there is a rule in place for this exact situation. We would bet that the Blue Jackets won't make this mistake again.
Voronkov had a second period assist in the game as the Blue Jackets blew out the Capitals 7-0. The Capitals, who hold the best record in the Eastern Conference by a comfortable margin, were resting their superstar (and NHL all-time leading career goal scorer) Alex Ovechkin.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
