For the second time in the Stanley Cup Final, a St. Louis Blues fourth liner has been suspended.
The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced Friday evening that it had suspended Ivan Barbashev one game for his illegal check to the head of Boston Bruins winger Marcus Johansson during Thursday’s Game 5.
In the first period, Johansson fired off a pass from the dot, and Barbashev skated in and caught Johansson’s head with his shoulder. The hit was not penalized during the game.
In the league’s explanation for suspending Barbashev, they emphasized that the head was the principal point of contact and that “such head contact was avoidable.”
You can listen to the league’s full explanation below.
After the game, Johansson was pretty blunt in response to questions about the hit.
Earlier in the series, Blues fourth-line center Oskar Sundqvist was suspended one game for his hit on Matt Grzelcyk that concussed the Bruins defenseman. Grzelcyk still hasn’t returned to the series. However, Sundqvist’s absence in Game 3 allowed Zach Sanford to return to the lineup, and he since has been a big part of the Blues’ recent success.
Robby Fabbri presumably will slot back into the lineup with Barbashev out, provided Robert Thomas remains unavailable.
