Bruins winger Brad Marchand has been suspended five games for his reckless elbow to the head of Devils forward Marcus Johansson late in the third period of Tuesday's 3-2 win at TD Garden, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced Wednesday.
In their video explanation, the NHL disputes Marchand's claim that he was making a defensive move to avoid contact, citing that the 29-year-old Marchand shoots his elbow out and forward at the end of the play in an offensive maneuver to initiate contact. The Department of Player Safety also factored in Marchand's history as a repeat offender when making their decision.
After Tuesday's game, Marchand opted not to get into it, instead pleading ignorance on the incident as a whole.
"I don't know," Marchand said when asked what happened on the play. "He got hurt. I don't know what happened. I have no idea what happened. I took a shot and I tumbled down and he was hurt. So I don't know what happened there, but hopefully he's okay."
This is the sixth suspension of Marchand's NHL career, and his second in less than a year, as he was hit with a two-game ban for his spear to Jake Dotchin's groin last April.
The latest five-game ban also matches the longest suspension of Marchand's career, which came back in 2012 as a result of clipping the Canucks' Sami Salo.
Marchand, who leads the Bruins in both goals (21) and points (50), is still expected to be part of the NHL's All-Star Game festivities this weekend.
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