Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
NEW YORK (AP) — The NHL has suspended Boston Bruins forward David Backes three games without pay for an illegal hit to the head of New Jersey Devils forward Blake Coleman.
The league considered Backes a repeat offender.
Based on his salary, he will lose almost $220,000. The discipline also means Backes will miss Tuesday's Winter Classic against Chicago at Notre Dame Stadium.
The incident occurred early in the third period Thursday night, when Coleman was clearing a rebound from the New Jersey zone. Backes delivered a shoulder to his head and knocked him to the ice.
The Bruins forward was given a minor penalty.
New Jersey won 5-2.
___
More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP\_Sports
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
