The National Hockey League imposed a one-game ban on Oskar Sundqvist of the St. Louis Blues for defeating Boston Bruins Matt Grzelcyk in the second game of the playoffs on Wednesday night.
The incident occurred at 17:54 of the first period. Sundqvist was given a minor penalty for donating tape.
“While we acknowledge that Grzelcyk does adjust his body position in making a play on the puck, he does not do so in a way that absolves Sundqvist of responsibility for the nature of this hit.” the NHL said.
In making its decision, the Player Safety Department ruled that even though Grzelcyk had changed the position of his body when picking up the puck, he had not done so in a way that absolved Sundqvist of any responsibility for to the nature of the check.
However, according to the DSJ, from the moment Sundqvist arrives at the bottom of the face-off circle until the moment of contact, the Blues striker sees only the number of his opponent.
So far this postseason, Sundqvist has posted a plus/minus of plus-eight, has four goals, five assists, and has averaged just under 16 minutes time on ice.
Both teams split the first two meetings. The Bruins won the first 4-2 before the Blues recorded a 3-2 overtime win in Game 2.
Boston Bruins Matt Grzelcyk will miss two games at the Stanley Cup Final. (Source:www.stanleycupofchowder.com)
Charlie McAvoy was the last player to have been suspended in these series. He missed a game for a dangerous check at the head of Josh Anderson.
The Blues are already without Robert Thomas who was injured in the first game. The center has amassed four goals and five assists in 23 games since the playoffs began.
For his part, Grzelcyk, a defender playing on the third pair, scored three times and added four passes to his record. He did not accompany the team to St. Louis for Game 3 and 4 of the series.
The third game of the final will be presented Saturday night at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
