Just a few hours after the NHL suspended Boston Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference one game for an elbow to the head of Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mikhail Grabovski, the league's department of player safety had another play to review that could involve Rule 48.
An Ottawa Senators defenseman was ejected from Thursday's game after he delivered a huge blindside hit on Montreal Canadiens center Lars Eller, who laid on the ice for a few minutes before being taken to the hospital.
The referees decided to give Gryba a five-minute major penalty for interference and a game misconduct. The Canadiens capitalized on the power-play opportunity with a goal from rookie Brendan Gallagher to take a 2-1 lead.
After watching this play live, it appeared that Gryba was guilty of a nasty headshot, but after looking at the replay from several different angles, the hit was clean.
It's always difficult to determine the intent of a player in this type of situation, but it looks like Gryba drove his shoulder into Eller's chest instead of making contact with the head. This photo provides a decent look at the point of contact (h/t @BonksMullet).
Gryba did not charge, elbow, interfere or leave his feet to collide with Eller. The hit was reckless and contact with the upper body was made, but it would be surprising if the Senators defenseman was suspended.
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