Tom Wilson and Josh Anderson may have escaped supplemental discipline Friday, but the same cannot be said for Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri.
Kadri was suspended three postseason games by the Department of Player Safety for boarding Tommy Wingels.
37 seconds after the Leafs fell in a 4-1 hole to Boston, Kadri jumped on the ice and made his presence felt.
After Tommy Wingels fell to his knees Kadri delivered a leaping hit, driving Wingels’ head into the boards with his hip.
Kadri received a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct.
“I certainly wasn’t trying to hit him while he was down like that,” Kadri, trying to explain he was victim of a bang-bang play, said after the Leafs’ 5-1 loss. “I was already committed to the hit. If he’s still standing up, there isn’t anything wrong on that, but he fell.”
The NHL didn’t buy that excuse, calling the hit “reckless” and saying “Kadri is in control of this hit at all times.”
The Department of Player Safety went even further than that. “This is a forceful and illegal hit delivered on a defenseless opponent for the purpose of retribution and message sending. It will not be tolerated.”
The suspension is particularly aggressive for DoPS, who consider playoff games more important than regular season contests. In fact, Kadri’s suspension is the longest suspension a player has received in the postseason since Brooks Orpik was held out of three games for injuring Olli Maatta two years ago (April 30, 2016).
Meanwhile, Wingels left the game injured after the incident and did not return. He’s questionable for Game Two.
“Wingels is still being evaluated by doctors today,” Bruce Cassidy said Friday. “Tomorrow we’ll get a better read on him…I wouldn’t rule him out, but we’ll see in the morning.”
The suspension is Kadri’s fourth during his nearly 500 games in the NHL.
Most Career Suspensions, Active Players
Brad Marchand 6
Zac Rinaldo 5
Nazem Kadri 4
Alex Ovechkin 4
Joe Thornton 4— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) April 13, 2018
More from the NHL:
NEW YORK (April 13, 2018) – Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri has been suspended for three games for boarding Boston Bruins forward Tommy Wingels during Game 1 of the teams’ First Round series in Boston on Thursday, April 12, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.
The incident occurred at 8:14 of the third period. Kadri was assessed a major penalty for charging and a game misconduct.
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