CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. – The Penguins will be without Olli Maatta for an undetermined period of time. The Capitals will have to make due without Brooks Orpik for the next three games.
Orpik earned the stiffest suspension of these Stanley Cup playoffs after catching his former teammate with a late hit to the head on Saturday night.
That came just over four minutes into Game 2 and knocked Maatta from the game with a suspected concussion.
He continued to be evaluated on Sunday afternoon, but Penguins coach Mike Sullivan indicated that he was “not optimistic” about his defenceman’s availability for Game 3 on Monday.
The three-game suspension is a strong statement to Orpik. It leaves open the possibility that the 35-year-old has played for the final time this season with the series tied 1-1.
While the Penguins were obviously unhappy with the play, they largely took the high road in discussing it.
“Well I thought it was late obviously,” winger Phil Kessel said after Sunday’s practice. “I’ll let the league decide obviously, but if you watch the play Olli didn’t need to get hit there.”
The NHL’s department of player safety considers any late hit to be one that comes 0.5 seconds after a player has gotten rid of the puck. The Orpik hit was deemed to be more than a second after.
Orpik missed three games in the opening round with a concussion after taking a hard hit from Philadelphia’s Ryan White and returned at the start of this series.
He was a popular member of Pittsburgh’s 2009 Stanley Cup team, and some of his former teammates seemed prepared to cut him some slack for the various physical liberties he’s taken so far.
“You have to look at it a little bit like playoff hockey,” said Penguins defenceman Kris Letang. “He doesn’t want anyone near his goalie, so you try to clear the front. In the playoffs you’re on that edge – you either cross it or you’re right on the other side.
“Sometimes it brings out emotion and stuff happens. These things happen.”
Maatta is likely to be replaced in the lineup by Justin Schultz, who hasn’t played since Game 1 of the Rangers series.
It’s the second time in two games a Washington player has been disciplined — Tom Wilson was fined for a knee-on-knee hit to Conor Sheary in Game 1 — but the Penguins are focused on keeping their composure.
“The league is going to do their job and we’re going to do our job,” said head coach Mike Sullivan. “We’re just going to play hockey.”
