Michael Bunting left his faint in the hands of the George Parros and the NHL Department of Player Safety after receiving a Match Penalty in Game 1 of the Toronto Maple Leafs / Tampa Bay Lightning series and the news is not good.
The Toronto Maple Leafs forward had his hearing with Parros on Tuesday afternoon at 3PM EST and four hours later it was announced he would be receiving a three game suspension.
With just over four minutes left in the second period and the Leafs trailing 4-2, Bunting and Lightning defenseman Erik Černák were gaining momentum towards retrieving the puck.
It appeared as though Bunting was attempting to slow up Černák by delivering a hit, however he got careless and made direct contact with the Tampa Bay defenseman’s head knocking him to the ground. Černák left the game and did not return to the game.
The officials discussed the incident, reviewed video of the play and came to the conclusion that Bunting would be assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct for a Match Penalty. During the five-minute penalty the Lightning would score two goals to put the game out of reach.
Bunting will potentially miss the remainder of the series if the Toronto Maple Leafs can’t turn things around quickly as they trail the series 1-0.
Toronto Maple Leafs Receive Another Stiff Suspension
The suspension seems a little stiff considering similar hits recently.
In the last week of the regular season, Ryan Hartman of the Minnesota Wild was suspended for one game in what looked to be a much more dangerous hit, albeit no head contact was made.
In the explanation, it was stated that Hartman who has had one previous suspension and six fines in his history would be suspended for one regular season game. Bunting’s hit, which resulted in a worse injury but less intent resulted in three games, despite never being suspended or fined during his career.
Just like years past, the Toronto Maple Leafs will need to overcome both Parros and Wes McCauley during their playoff runs, which has not gone well in the past.
With the expectation of the suspension, Bunting skated in a scratched jersey coloured during Wednesday mornings practice. Rookie Matthew Knies was skating on a line with Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari.
Wednesday morning practice lines
Järnkrok-Matthews-Marner
Kerfoot-Tavares-Nylander
Knies-O’Reilly-Acciari
ZAR-Kampf-Lafferty
Game 2 of the series goes Thursday night which is almost must win scenario for the Maple Leafs.