Ottawa Senators left winger Ridly Greig roughed Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Sean Walker in the final game of their series, and it wasn't called a penalty on the ice.
The NHL's Department of Player Safety suspended Ottawa Senators left winger Ridly Greig for two regular-season games on Monday.
The 23-year-old was suspended for his actions during Game 4 against the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Senators ultimately lost that game 4-2 and were eliminated.
During a scrum in the second period of that game, Senators left winger Warren Foegele had Hurricanes defenseman Sean Walker in a headlock position.
While that was going on, Greig landed an upper-cut punch to Walker's head while Walker was unable to protect himself.
"This is roughing," NHL Player Safety explained in a video.
"It is important to note that this is not a situation in which two players are squaring off in a mutual confrontation, only for the confrontation to escalate rapidly.
"In this situation, Walker is fully engaged with a Senators player when Greig knowingly approaches them and elects to throw two sucker punches towards the defenseless Walker, with sufficient force to merit supplemental discipline," the video explained.
The department also noted that Greig has been suspended once before in his four-year, 247-game NHL career.
"I could do a better job of controlling my emotions," Greig told the media last Monday. "Yeah, that's all I'll say on it."
In the game, Greig's actions went unnoticed, and he didn't receive a penalty for punching Walker.
"That just goes to my point that we've been having for eight years on what needs to be done – review the penalties," Brind'Amour told reporters when asked about the punch. "It is impossible to referee our sport live. It really is."
Greig featured in every playoff game for the Senators this year, recording one assist and a plus-1 rating. In the regular season, he scored 13 goals and a career-high 35 points with a plus-12 rating in 77 games.
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