George Parros is a busy man early in the Stanley Cup playoffs thanks to a rash of questionable hits around the NHL.The vice president of player safety’s department suspended Toronto Maple Leafs center Nazem Kadri three games for boarding Boston forward Tommy Wingels in what the league called a hit made in the name of retribution and Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty one game for an illegal check to the head on Vegas forward William Carrier.With two suspensions Adidas J.T. Brown Jersey , two misconduct ejections for boarding that resulted in injuries, plus Capitals winger Tom Wilson’s hit to the head that knocked Columbus center Alexander Wennberg out of the game, it has been a rough start to the playoffs – and there have only been eight games played. In 1,271 regular-season games, there were a total of 37 game misconducts and 22 suspensions.The NHL has made a concerted effort to rid its game of fighting and questionable hits, wanting to keep skilled players on the ice and boost scoring. In the postseason, goals are usually harder to come by and the adrenaline of the moment brings hard hits that cross the line; a year ago, Penguins star Sidney Crosby missed a game with a concussion after a cross-check to the head from the Capitals’ Matt Niskanen.Kadri was tossed from Toronto’s Game 1 loss at Boston for boarding Wingels, and Blue Jackets winger Josh Anderson was thrown out of their overtime victory at Washington for a hit from behind that injured Capitals defenseman Michal Kempny.A game misconduct will likely suffice for Anderson, but Kadri wasn’t as fortunate and will miss Games 2, 3 and 4.”I certainly wasn’t trying to hit him when he was down like that,” Kadri said after Thursday night’s game. ”Obviously, if he’s still standing up, I think there’s nothing wrong with that Adidas Adam Pelech Jersey , but he ended up falling and reaching for the puck, and I’m not sure what happened after that.”What happened was another Bruins goal on the ensuing power play that made it 5-1 in the first game between the bitter rivals. Down the East Coast, Wilson’s hit on Wennberg allowed the Blue Jackets to tie the score in a game they won in overtime. Wilson blamed himself for costing Washington Game 1 by taking a bad penalty at a critical moment.”I’ve got to be better and maybe pass up on that hit,” Wilson said. ”We’ve got the lead there so maybe a big hit’s not needed. It’s the playoffs. Trying to finish your checks, and unfortunately I took a penalty.”Wilson was suspended two preseason games for interference and then for the first four regular-season games for boarding but had cleaned up his game since. Part of that stemmed from meeting with Parros in Calgary in the fall and educating himself on what’s acceptable and what the NHL looks for.”We had a meeting, me, him and Parros, and went over videos and just what they were looking at when he was being considered for suspensions and fines and other examples throughout the league,” Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said.Parros spent almost a decade as an NHL enforcer and finished his career with 159 fights and 1,127 penalty minutes. When he took over the league’s player safety department last September, he said he intended to crack down on ”non-hockey plays” that have nothing to do with affecting the course of the game.Some of the hits may alter series because of the resulting injuries.Carrier, Kempny, Wennberg and Wingels are all day-to-day with ”upper-body” injuries – the customarily vague description in the NHL – with their statuses legitimately uncertain moving forward. Columbus general manager Jermo Kekalainen called Wennberg ”doubtful” for Game 2 Sunday at Washington and considered it a ”dangerous hit” by Wilson that the league deemed wasn’t worthy of further punishment.Doughty, a Norris Trophy contender and Los Angeles’ top defender Adidas Thomas Hickey Jersey , was suspended for Friday night’s Game 2 against Vegas for what the league called an avoidable hit to Carrier’s head. Kadri’s hit came after Wingels crushed Toronto forward Mitch Marner, but the timing and force of the hit made it worse.”The bottom line is, you always have to be disciplined at all times and emotions are a part of the game, but it’s got to be controlled,” Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said.Kekalainen disagreed with officials giving Anderson a five-minute major and a game misconduct for his hit on Kempny, which was definitely a minor penalty but seemed less egregious than Wilson’s later. That didn’t stop Capitals coach Barry Trotz from voicing his displeasure with Anderson’s play.”I thought there’s clearly numbers there,” Trotz said. ”Trying to get that out of the game.”— OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — It was a night of firsts for the Washington Capitals on Saturday.Tom Wilson scored, Tyler Lewington and Madison Bowey each got their first career goals and the Capitals beat the short-handed Ottawa Senators 3-2.Lewington and Bowey are the first Capitals defensemen to get their first goals in the same game. Lewington also had a Gordie Howe hat trick with an assist and a fight against Zack Smith in his second NHL game.“The first game I was definitely nervous, and this game I was still a little nervous but the guys have been great making me feel comfortable,” Lewington said. “I wasn’t really thinking of (the Gordie Howe hat trick). It just kind of happened, but it’s kind of cool. I’ve only had one other one back in junior. I don’t know if I’ll ever get another one.”The Capitals have won four straight, and the Senators have dropped four in a row. Pheonix Copley made 31 saves for Washington.The Senators were without top defenseman Thomas Chabot and fellow blue-liner Christian Jaros following injuries Friday in a 6-3 loss to the New York Islanders. Jaros broke a finger, and Chabot was placed on injured reserve with an upper body injury following a hit from Islanders forward Matt Murray in the second period. Both players are expected to miss 3 to 4 weeks.The Senators had goaltender Marcus Hogberg making his first NHL appearance. Hogberg made 21 saves Adidas Tom Kuhnhackl Jersey , and Colin White and Mark Stone scored for the Senators, who are last in the Eastern Conference.“It was as tough … for him coming in but he gave us a chance, and we had a chance to the very end so he did his job,” Senators coach Guy Boucher said of Hogberg.Stone scored at 16:30 of the third period, creating a white-knuckle finish.“The boys played really well in front of me and helped me see some pucks and it’s nice to have it done,” said Hogberg, who has split time between the AHL and ECHL the past two seasons.Lewington assisted on the game’s opening goal by Wilson at 7:12 of the first period for the first point of his career and whistled a shot past Hogberg at 16:00 for his first NHL goal.Late in the second period, he got his first fighting major in a bout with Smith.Bowey gave the Capitals a 3-0 lead just 61 seconds into the second period when he skated in from the point and beat Hogberg with a shot from the top of the faceoff circle.“I’m happy it went in, obviously. It’s been a long time and it definitely felt great. It turned out to be a big goal for us and I’m happy we got the two points,” Bowey said. “To see (Lewington) score and get the Gordie Howe hat trick is really special.”The Senators got one back when White was credited with a goal at 4:22 of the second after a Washington challenge for goaltender interference was dismissed.Senators rookie Brady Tkachuk earned an assist on that goal but just 33 seconds later was knocked to the ice by a hit to the head from Bowey. Tkachuk immediately jumped to his feet and received an instigator minor, fighting major and misconduct for going after Bowey. He drew a loud cheer from the home crowd when he left the penalty box three minutes into the third.NOTES: The Capitals have won the past four meetings between the two teams. … Saturday was the second of three meetings between teams this season. The Capitals were 4-0 winners in Ottawa on Dec. 22 and they meet again in Washington on Feb. 26. … The Senators recalled Ds Stefan Elliott and Christian Wolanin from Belleville of the AHL on Saturday.UP NEXTCapitals: Host Nashville on Monday.Senators: Play at Columbus on Monday night.