MONTREAL, QC. — On Friday afternoon the NHL announced that Senators defenseman Eric Gryba had been suspended for two games for an illegal check to the head of the Canadiens Lars Eller.
Brendan Shanahan from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety identified the following factors in making his decision:
- Eller’s head was the principal point of contact.
- Eller lost consciousness prior to his face striking the ice.
- The pass made by Raphael Diaz was irrelevant.
Additional video and photo gallery of the illegal hit can be found here.