Bruins’ Marchand (slew-footing) banned 3 games

NHL

Boston Bruins winger Brad Marchand has been suspended three games for slew-footing Vancouver Canucks defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson on Sunday.

Marchand will be eligible to return on Dec. 8, when the Bruins face the Canucks again.

This marks the seventh suspension for Marchand in his 13-year NHL career. His most recent suspension came in Jan. 2018, when he received five games for elbowing. Marchand was suspended two games for slew-footing in January, 2015.

Sunday’s incident occurred just one minute and eight seconds into the first period of the game, a 3-2 Bruins win. Marchand was not penalized on the play, and Ekman-Larsson was not injured.

“I thought it was two guys battling for a puck, got tangled up,” Bruins coach Brad Cassidy told reporters on Sunday. “They’ll have to decide. You see a lot of those in a game, they’re typically along the boards more often than in the open ice, but I’ve seen a lot of it this year.”

The NHL made it a point of emphasis for officials to crack down on cross-checking penalties this year, and many around the league believe it has led to an increase of slew-footing — or dangerous trip penalties.

According to collective bargaining agreement rules, Marchand will forfeit $91,875 in salary — a sum calculated based on his annual average salary. That money will go to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund. Marchand, 33, has a cap hit of $6.125 million this year.

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