The Detroit Red Wings will be without their top defenseman for Game 7 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Niklas Kronwall has been suspended one game for his hit on Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced Tuesday.
[tweet https://twitter.com/NHLPlayerSafety/status/593181929425473537 align=’center’]
Kronwall laid out Kucherov with a vicious hit that knocked the forward’s helmet off late in the second period of the Red Wings’ Game 6 loss to the Bolts. No penalty was called on the play, and Kucherov remained in the game, but the league announced Tuesday morning they were reviewing the check as charging and an illegal check to the head.
Kronwall’s suspension marks the first one to be handed out in the 2015 playoffs. It’s also the first of his career.
With the series knotted at three games apiece, Game 7 is set for Wednesday night in Tampa Bay.
Thumbnail photo via Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports Images
