The NHL has suspended Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly for five games for a “deliberate and forceful attack” on the head of Senators forward Ridley Greig over the weekend.
The announcement followed an in-person hearing for Rielly in New York on Tuesday.
On Saturday night, the blueliner went out of his way to attack Greig after the center scored an empty-net goal to seal the victory for the Senators.
Rielly took exception to the way Greig fired the puck into an open net and launched a vicious cross-checking attack on Greig, who turned around and began celebrating.
“In doing so, Riley skates toward Greig with purpose and for some distance. He raises his stick high with both hands and intentionally strikes Greig in the head with considerable force,” the league said. He explained the suspension in a video.
The league explained that the incident was a cross-check to justify supplemental discipline because it was not an “inadvertent or accidental use of the stick due to body position or other hockey suggestions.” did.
The NHL deemed the cross-check to have occurred long after the play had ended and was done “for the sole purpose of retaliation.”
“Riley has been pursuing Greig for some time and has had ample opportunity to choose to engage with him in a different way,” the video continues to explain. “Alternatively, have this cross-check be made only to the body. Instead, Rielly, always in complete control of this play, chose to raise his stick to the level of Greig’s head and neck.”
He added: “In short, this is not a hockey game. This is a deliberate and powerful blow to the opponent’s head, using a stick as a weapon, in order to retaliate against him long after a goal has been scored.” ”
Saturday’s game between the Senators and Leafs was especially intense. Emotions seemed to get the better of everyone and the Leafs were not shy in trying to pin the blame on Greig and defend Reilly’s actions.
After the game, Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe called Riley’s reaction “appropriate,” and star Auston Matthews said Monday that Greig’s actions “definitely deserved a reaction.”
The Leafs and Senators are not scheduled to meet again this season.
