NHL playoffs:
Leafs’ Kadri suspended:
The NHL has suspended Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri for the rest of the first round of the playoffs for cross-checking Boston Bruins winger Jake DeBrusk in the head.
The decision was announced Monday.
Kadri hit DeBrusk in the third period of Boston’s 4-1 victory Saturday. He was offered an in-person hearing by the NHL, meaning the league had the option to suspend him for more than five games.
It is the fifth suspension of Kadri’s career. He was banned three games for boarding in the opener of last year’s series with the Bruins and has had seven previous hearings with the NHL since 2013. All four of his previous suspensions involved contact with an opponent’s head.
Sharks’ Thornton suspended:
San Jose Sharks center Joe Thornton was suspended Monday for one playoff game for a hit to the head of Vegas’ Tomas Nosek.
The NHL’s Department of Player Safety said that Thornton’s hit on Nosek in Game 3 was avoidable and that the head was “clearly the main point of contact.” That led to the decision to suspend Thornton for Game 4 on Tuesday night in Las Vegas.
Thornton was called for an illegal check to the head on the play and defended it after the game.
“I honestly thought I barely touched him,” Thornton said after the game. “He just came right back; it was just one of those plays that it is what it is. I think my son hits me like that six times a day, it’s just a weird position to put himself in, that’s all.”