Mathieu Olivier has built a career on being difficult to play against. On Tuesday night in Columbus he found the line, crossed it, and was gone before the second period ended.
He and Uvis Balinskis had been battling for a puck along the boards in the Florida end when the Panthers defenseman gave him an extra bump. As Balinskis turned to skate away, Olivier came up behind him and brought his stick up between his legs.
Balinskis went down in a heap and stayed there. He eventually made it off the ice, took some time to compose himself, and was able to return to the game.
Neither referee’s arm went up initially. The linespeople stepped in, officials reviewed the play, and Olivier was handed a five-minute major for slashing and a game misconduct. He finished the night with 9:13 of ice time and a minus-1.
Will Mathieu Olivier be suspended?
The play has been forwarded to the Department of Player Safety, and the 29-year-old’s record cuts both ways. He has never been suspended in his NHL career, though he was ejected twice last season on majors, for elbowing in October 2025 and boarding in November. He carries 491 penalty minutes in 315 career games and has cleared 100 in each of the past two seasons.
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There’s a certain symmetry to the timing. The last player suspended for a slashing major was Charlie McAvoy, whose six-game ban carried over into this season, and he was returning from it on the same night Olivier was being thrown out.
The ejection cost Columbus immediately. Carter Verhaeghe scored on the ensuing major power play for his second of the season, capping a four-goal period for Florida that also featured a natural hat trick from Brady Tkachuk, with all three goals assisted by his brother Matthew Tkachuk.
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