Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri was ejected in the third period of Thursday night’s 5-1 Game 1 loss to the Boston Bruins at TD Garden after he was assessed a five-minute major penalty for charging at B’s forward Tommy Wingels.
And it’s quite possible Kadri won’t return to this first-round Stanley Cup playoff series when it resumes Saturday for Game 2.
He has a hearing with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety on Friday to discuss the incident with Wingels. It’s possible the league will suspend Kadri for the hit.
Kadri didn’t give a great defense of his hit after the game, and when asked about a possible suspension, he only said: “it’s out of my control at this point.”
Wingels was shaken up after the hit, and B’s head coach Bruce Cassidy didn’t have much of an update after the game, saying the forward still is being evaluated.
Kadri is an important player for the Leafs. He’s their second-line center, generates offense and contributes to their special teams. It would be a huge loss if he’s suspended for any amount of games.
“That was a pretty tough hit,” Bruins forward Brad Marchand said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen there, I’m sure they’re going to look at it and we’ll go from there. He’s obviously a big player for their team, he plays hard and tough to play against.”
