The NHL Department of Player Safety announced Thursday morning that Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist will have a hearing later in the day for his hit on Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk in Wednesday's Game 2, an eventual 3-2 overtime win for the Blues.
After the game, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said Grzelcyk had been taken to the hospital for testing, but that he didn't have any details on his condition at that time.
David Backes was the most outspoken Bruin when asked about the hit after the game, saying, "I don’t think that’s a hit we want in our game."
"I think it’s from behind, elevated into his head, into the glass," Backes continued. "If that’s a two-minute penalty, there’s going to be a shortage of defensemen I think in this series by the end of it. But that’s in somebody else’s hands. That’s something I think if I’m making that hit, I’m probably watching from the bleachers for a few. But we’ll see what happens with their player."
Sundqvist is the fifth player to have a hearing with the league this postseason, and it's worth noting that the previous four all ended up getting suspended for at least one game. Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov, San Jose's Joe Thornton and Boston's Charlie McAvoy all got one game, while Toronto's Nazem Kadri got banned for the remainder of the first round for cross-checking Bruins forward Jake DeBrusk in the face.
One game would seemingly be the safe bet for Sundqvist. Game 3 is Saturday at 8 p.m. in St. Louis.
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