The New Jersey Devils came out of their contest with the Vancouver Canucks with an important win, dominating pretty much from start to finish. They let up some plays in the second period, but overall, they were the better team throughout.
However, there was one play that could have changed the game entirely. At the end of the second period, with the Devils leading 4-1, Evan Rodrigues took a faceoff at center ice against Marco Rossi. Rodrigues was getting a little too close for Rossi’s comfort, and he pushed the veteran. Rodrigues’s reaction was swift and probably reactionary.
Evan Rodrigues has been assessed a double-minor for "high-sticking" on Marco Rossi 😬 pic.twitter.com/r8RzBZ0Khv
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) October 10, 2026
The play was originally called a major penalty, which would have been a much different situation. The Devils’ penalty kill has struggled to start the season, and a major penalty would have given the Canucks an opportunity to tie the game in one long power play. If any team knows how impactful one major penalty can be, it’s the Devils.
Luckily for the Devils, the penalty was downgraded to a double minor. Rodrigues was not assessed a match penalty and was allowed to remain in the game. Since it was the end of the period, the Devils faced the majority of the PK in the third period. After surviving two minutes of the PK, Brock Boeser was called for hooking Timo Meier, and the double minor was over.
And while the Devils survived the penalty, we were waiting to hear if Rodrigues would face additional discipline. Some even suggested that he could face a suspension. The fact that intent is not really questionable here was not working in Rodrigues’s favor, but most would say that he got away with a slap on the wrist, even if it was an expensive one.
New Jersey’s Evan Rodrigues has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for high-sticking Vancouver’s Marco Rossi.
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) October 11, 2026
Evan Rodrigues avoids a suspension after his mistake against the Canucks
There’s no real way to call Rodrigues’s high stick anything other than a mistake. We get sticking up and adding toughness to the roster, which is an important aspect Rodrigues brings to the table, but he has to be smart with it. He nearly put the Devils in a bad spot in an important game early in his tenure.
And with Connor Brown returning to the lineup soon, Sheldon Keefe already has a hard decision to make with the roster. Rodrigues can’t afford those types of plays too often, or he might be watching the games from the owner’s box.
For now, he walks away with just a $5,000 fine. The Devils walk away with two points, and for a few days, the fanbase is happy with the results.
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