In the first period of Game 2 in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, Boston Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk went awkwardly to the corner to retrieve the puck and suffered a hit to the back of his head from Oskar Sundqvist.
Given that the Boston Bruins player was already going into the corner in quite an awkward manner, it’s a bit of a 50/50 call. However, the fact that Sundqvist drops the shoulder after already seeing the angle that the off-balance Matt Grzelcyk is at makes it more than a bit questionable.
Now obviously these things happen in seconds and it might be a big ask to expect Sundqvist to react, but from most angles it looks like he chose to continue through with a hit to a player whose head was very much in line with the Blues’ player’s shoulder by the time of impact.
Per Pierre LeBrun; the NHL’s Department of Player Safety will be taking a look. Realistically, the Boston Bruins have already copped a far harsher penalty than whatever may be dished out to Oskar Sundqvist.
NHL Player Safety taking a good look at the Sundqvist hit as expected. Whether or not it warrants a hearing we won’t know until Thursday.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) May 30, 2019
For the actual play, the Blues player was adjudged just a two-minute penalty for boarding. It’s fair to ask the question why it wasn’t a charging or an illegal check to the head call. Whilst Sundqvist sat his two minutes in the box and returned to the ice, Matt Grzelcyk went down to the tunnel and to hospital, meaning the Boston Bruins played two periods and over-time down a defenseman.
Looking at other calls during these play-offs, an obvious comparative may actually be the call made against Nazem Kadri for his hit from behind on Jake DeBrusk in the first round. That hit didn’t really leave DeBrusk any worse for wear, especially compared to this one, yet was adjudged a suspension for the rest of that series.
Do we expect such a harsh punishment? Probably not. Not in the Stanley Cup Final.
However, would it be fair for the Boston Bruins to expect such a harsh punishment to be laid upon the St. Louis Blues winger. Absolutely.
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Whether it’s mind games or not, David Backes has weighed in on the hit and even he is suggesting it’s a bit of an iffy one. Coming from a player that has often played very close to the edge himself, that’s saying something.
What it’ll all come down to in reality is whether the Department of Player Safety adjudge the hit to have had intent to injure Matt Grzelcyk. The sheer fact that the Boston Bruins could be expecting that Matt Grzelcyk is missing from the team list for Game 3 would suggest the fair decision is at least a one-game suspension.
It’s very hard though, with the lack of clear and consistent decisions to determine whether or not this will go punished. Only time will tell, I guess.
Let’s hope that Matt Grzelcyk doesn’t feel too many nasty repercussions and is back on the Boston Bruins’ blue line before this series is over.