Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly has been suspended five games after cross-checking Ottawa Senators forward Ridly Greig in the head on Saturday night. Rielly was retaliating after Greig fired a slapshot into the Maple Leafs' empty net for a 4-2 win.
With a handful of seconds left on the clock, Greig cruised into the Toronto zone before winding up and hammering a shot into the open net. Rielly took issue with that, and he confronted Greig. In doing so, Rielly raised his stick and cross-checked Greig in the face.
Greig immediately went to the ice as a scrum broke out in the Maple Leafs' zone.
Upon reviewing the play, the NHL Department of Player Safety decided to suspend Rielly for five games. In their explanation video, the Department of Player Safety noted that the players weren't "mutually jousting" with both accepting some degree of risk.
"This play occurs well after the goal has been scored late in the game with the score out of reach and for the sole purpose of retribution," the NHL said in its explanation. "While we acknowledge Rielly's argument that his stick does make some contact with Greig's body before striking Greig in the head, this is not a case in which a stick that is raised to an excusable level is significantly deflected up and into the head and neck area."
Rielly, the Maple Leafs' top defenseman, served the first game of his suspension on Tuesday night when Toronto defeated the St. Louis Blues, 4-1. Rielly, who has 43 points in 50 games, will also miss games against the Philadelphia Flyers, Anaheim Ducks, Blues, and Arizona Coyotes.
