Oskar Sundqvist Suspended 1 Game By NHL For Hit On Matt Grzelcyk
BOSTON (CBS) -- Tied at one game apiece, the Stanley Cup Final will resume on Saturday night in St. Louis. Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist will not be participating.
The NHL on Thursday ruled that Sundqvist will be suspended for one game.
Sundqvist's punishment stems from his hit in Game 2 on Matt Grzelcyk, which sent the Bruins' defenseman to the hospital with a concussion.
Sundqvist was issued a two-minute minor penalty for boarding after Grzelcyk went down, but the NHL department of player safety announced Thursday morning that Sundqvist would be subject to a hearing for the hit.
The league says the responsibility is on the hitter to place a legal check. "Therefore 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 department of player safety said in a video explaining the suspension.
The 25-year-old Swede scored 14 goals and had 17 assists during the regular season. Through 21 playoff games, he's registered four goals and five assists, and his plus-8 rating is tied with Jay Bouwmeester for best on the team. Sundqvist was credited with a secondary assist on the Blues' overtime goal to end Game 2 for his shot that went wide of the Boston net.
Sundqvist's suspension marks the fifth suspension issued by the NHL this postseason, and the third involving a Bruins series. Toronto's Nazem Kadri was suspended for the remainder of the first round -- it ended up being a five-game suspension -- for cross-checking Boston's Jake DeBrusk in the face. Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy was suspended for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final for his illegal check to the head of Columbus' Josh Anderson in the final game of that second-round series. Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov and San Jose's Joe Thornton were also suspended for one game apiece this postseason.
