Washington Capitals defenceman Brooks Orpik has been suspended three games for interference on Pittsburgh Penguins‘ Olli Maatta in Game 2 of their second-round playoff series, the NHL’s department of player safety announced Sunday.
Orpik caught Maatta with a late hit to the head in the first period of Game 2 Saturday night. Maatta did not return to the game and his status for Game 3 is uncertain. The veteran defenceman was assessed a two-minute minor penalty for interference on the play.
The department of player safety determined Orpik made “significant head contact causing an injury.”
The hit came a full second after Maatta released a shot toward the Capitals’ net. “No player should reasonably expect to be hit at this time and in this manner,” said director of NHL player safety Patrick Burke in the league’s video release on the suspension.
“This hit is forceful, unacceptably high, and excessively late,” Burke continued.
Orpik’s two previous suspensions were noted in the video assessment.
Game 3 between the Capitals and Penguins goes Monday at 8 p.m. ET
