Red Wings defender deserves suspension for classless move against New Jersey Devils

The New Jersey Devils may have defeated the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 on Monday night, but they were oh so close to losing another player or two to a handful of dirty plays and classless moves by their opponents.

One such maneuver came from Red Wings defenseman Ben Chiarot, who has dabbled in these types of things before in his NHL career.

During a third-period scrum between the Devils and Red Wings, Chiarot, with his back facing the pile of bodies, cocked the butt of his stick back and hit Simon Nemec in the... sensitive area, forcing him to labor off the ice in a heap of pain and head down the tunnel for a bit.

Nemec ultimately did return after shaking off his prodding, but it was a totally gutless thing for Chiarot to do with his back turned to anyone who would give him some pushback.

Earlier in the game, it was Stefan Noesen who dropped the gloves with J.T. Compher after Compher had boarded captain Nico Hischier, which took Hischier out of commission for a little bit.

Chiarot deserves at least a fine, and maybe a light suspension, for his hooliganism on Monday night, which appeared to be a team effort on behalf of the Red Wings.

Even after the final horn sounded, there were more scrums involving James van Riemsdyk, Lucas Raymond, Dylan Larkin, and Mo Seider.

A hard-fought matchup is no excuse for Ben Chiarot's dirty move

Larkin and Hischier nearly came to blows before a group of referees intervened, and Siegenthaler got the better of Raymond again after taking out the star Swede previously. Naturally, the latter finally headed off the ice, wound up, and threw his helmet down the tunnel on the way to the locker room.

Jacob Markstrom, fresh off a 32-save effort, found the energy to then get involved in those piles and scrums, too.

Markstrom and the "soft" New Jersey Devils stole a win right from under the Red Wings' noses and understandably drew their ire, but that does not excuse boarding people and spearing a 21-year-old, and the Devils' hottest player in Nemec. There was purpose to that move by Chiarot, and that shouldn't go unpunished.

The NHL Department of Player Safety should, at the very least, be taking a look at this one, especially as it gains steam on social media. Even if it just ends in a fine, these types of moves are dangerous and have no place in the NHL.