The San Jose Sharks won’t have to worry about playing Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final without Patrick Marleau.
The veteran center was penalized for a hit to the head of Pittsburgh Penguins forward Bryan Rust on Monday night, but he won’t face supplemental discipline, an NHL official told Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
The hit in question came early in the third period of Game 1, which Pittsburgh won 3-2 on a late goal by Nick Bonino. The medical staff examined Rust on the bench, and he returned to the ice for one more shift before exiting the game. He did not return.
“It’s a blindside hit to the head,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan told reporters after the game, via ESPN.com. “(Marleau) gets a penalty, and I’m sure the league will look at it.”
Marleau, who is playing in his first Stanley Cup Final, told reporters he did not expect to be suspended.
“I just tried to keep everything down,” the 36-year-old said after the game, via ESPN.com. “I didn’t want to get too high on him. … I just kind of let him skate into me.”
Rust, a 24-year-old rookie, has scored four goals over Pittsburgh’s last three playoff games, including one in the first period Monday night. He is considered day to day with an upper body injury, and his status for Wednesday’s Game 2 remains unclear.
UPDATE (11:50 a.m. ET): The NHL’s Department of Player Safety has confirmed Marleau will not face supplemental discipline.
(1/3) Dept of Player Safety determines no Supplemental Discipline is warranted for Patrick Marleau’s hit on Bryan Rust in Game 1 of the SCF.
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) May 31, 2016
(2/3) Main points of contact: shoulders, chest. Rust low, off-balance, reaching.
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) May 31, 2016
(3/3) Marleau does not “pick” the head, elevate or extend. Head contact is with Marleau’s back.
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) May 31, 2016
Thumbnail photo via Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports Images
