Montreal Canadiens forward Brandon Prust has been suspended two games by the NHL’s department of player safety after he interfered with New York Rangers forward Derek Stepan Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.
Prust levelled Stepan, who did not have the puck, with a late hit at 2:55 of the first period during the Canadiens 3-2 overtime victory in Game 3.
Blindsided, Stepan was furious as he skated to the dressing room on his own power.
No penalty was called on the play and Stepan did return to the game later in the period.
Because Prust’s hearing was conducted over the phone Friday, the maximum number of games he could’ve been suspended was five.
Rangers coach Alain Vigneault told media Friday that Stepan suffered a broken jaw from the hit and doctors cleared him to return to the game. Stepan’s status for Sunday’s Game 4 has yet to be determined.
“We looked at it,” Vigneault told reporters of the hit. “The referees missed it.”
Prust has been suspended in the playoffs in the past.
As a Ranger, the hard-nosed forward was suspended for Game 4 of the 2012 Eastern Conference final against New Jersey after delivering an elbow to the head of Devils defenceman Anton Volchenkov:
“It doesn’t matter [who it was]; it’s a bad hit,” Stepan told reporters. “I never saw [Prust]. I got the puck and I moved it. I even got some strides in.
“It might have been with his shoulder, but he made contact with my face. The main focus is my head.”
Montreal coach Michel Therrien told reporters he was “not concerned” about the league reviewing the play.
The Rangers and Canadiens resume their series Sunday night at Madison Square Garden.
