The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced late on Friday that Blues forward Ivan Barbashev has been suspended one game for an illegal check to the head against Bruins forward Marcus Johansson in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.
St. Louis’ Ivan Barbashev has been suspended for one game for an Illegal Check to the Head on Boston’s Marcus Johansson. https://t.co/CVEqVANQ7a
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety)
June 7, 2019 As Johansson released a shot on net, Barbashev nailed him with a high hit in which Johansson’s head was the main point of contact. The brunt of the hit was delivered by Barbashev’s shoulder to the head of Johansson. Because the head contact was avoidable, it is deemed an illegal check to the head by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety.
This is the second time in the Stanley Cup Final that a St. Louis player has been suspended. Oskar Sundqvist received a one-game suspension after Game 2 for the hit that sent Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk into the concussion protocol, causing the defenseman to miss the last three games.
So far, every player who has had a hearing in the postseason has been suspended at least one game.
