The St. Louis Blues will be shorthanded heading into Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The Department of Player Safety announced Thursday that Blues’ forward Oskar Sundqvist was suspended one game for boarding Boston Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk that occurred in the first period of Wednesday’s Game 2 at TD Garden.
Of course, a big announcement like this brings about reactions online, with some discussing the significance of Sundqvist’s Game 3 absence. The forward has racked up a team-high plus/minus rating while collecting nine postseason points.
Losing Oskar Sundqvist for a game is significant hurdle for #STLBlues.
His plus-8 play this postseason is tied for team lead. 4 postseason goals. 5 assists. Averaging nearly 16 minutes per game. Kills penalties. Second on team in hits (63). Has taken fourth-most faceofffs.— Ben Frederickson (@Ben_Fred) May 31, 2019
Others, like TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, feel as though the suspension makes up for Sundqvist avoiding a five-minute major penalty.
One game. As I said this morning, I figure this was cleaning up that he didn’t get 5 min and a game last night https://t.co/KegJ88ZXTv
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) May 31, 2019
Dale Arnold of NESN and WEEI added that, despite the suspension, the Blues still got the better of the deal here.
About what I expected. Probably would have been more in the regular season. I think the Blues got the better of this deal, from a competitive point of view, as Grzelcyk already missed most of one game, and will likely miss at least one of two more. https://t.co/CuVQnh9VYg
— Dale Arnold (@DaleEArnold) May 31, 2019
There are also plenty who feel as though Grzelcyk put himself in a vulnerable position, but former NHL enforcer Daniel Carcillo shared a solid angle of the hit, putting that argument to rest.
This clip is for #stlblues fans who are on my timeline saying that there was no time for Sundqvist to avoid the hit
This clip is for hockey fans who want to victim blame
There was more than enough time for Sundqvist to avoid all contact#NHLBruins #StanleyCup #NHL #Concussion pic.twitter.com/1Hj4jh2ckc
— Daniel Carcillo (@CarBombBoom13) May 30, 2019
Puck drop for Saturday’s Game 3 is set for 8 p.m. ET in St. Louis.
