St. Louis Blues winger Ryan Reaves has been suspended three games without pay for boarding San Jose Sharks defenseman Matt Tennyson in Monday's game.
Reaves hit Tennyson from behind and into the glass in the first period of the Sharks' 6-3 win. Tennyson dropped flat on his back and hit his head on the ice. He eventually was able to get to his feet and was helped off the ice by teammates and Sharks trainer Ray Tufts. He appeared to have a cut on his head.
Reaves will forfeit $18,145.17, with the money going to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.
Reaves was given a five-minute boarding penalty and a game misconduct. San Jose turned the sequence into two power-play goals.
"I think that's the ultimate retribution for a hit like that, is to score two or three power-play goals, and that decision basically cost them the game,'' San Jose coach Peter DeBoer said Monday.
St. Louis defenseman Robert Bortuzzo said Monday that the hit by Reaves was not intentional.
"The game is moving real quick out there," Bortuzzo said. "Reaves plays the game hard and on the edge, but he's never been known to be malicious or anything. It's a tough situation for a guy to go down.''
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.