TAMPA, Fla. — The first suspension of Niklas Kronwall’s career couldn’t have dome at a much worse time for the Detroit Red Wings.
The NHL announced today that Kronwall has been suspended for one game — Wednesday’s Game 7 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Tampa Bay Lightning — for his hit on Nikita Kucherov with one minute remaining in the second period Monday in Game 6. The league said Kronwall was suspended for “charging.”
Here is the league’s explanation:
“Monday night in Detroit, Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall launched into a hit against Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov that resulted in significant head contact. Kucherov is playing the puck along the right boards as Kronwall pinches down from his point position. After taking a couple of quick strides to intercept Kucherov’s path Kronwall launches up and into a hit, driving his left forearm into Kucherov’s face just after Kucherov releases a pass. This is charging.
“Many charging penalties are adequately punished by a minor or major penalty. What causes this infraction to rise to the level of supplemental discipline is the force to which the hit was delivered and the significant head contact that resulted from Kronwall launching into it. Kucherov is eligible to be hit on this play. Being bent over in a standard puck-carrying posture does not make him exempt from taking a legal hit, which might include some unavoidable head contact. However, rather than staying low and delivering a full-body check through Kucherov’s core, Kronwall elevates unacceptably with his skates off the ice prior to contact. It is important to note that this hit differs from countless other hits delivered by Kronwall at this same location on the ice and under certain circumstances.” MORE
