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Brooks Orpik suspended three games for interference on Olli Maatta

Washington Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik has been suspended three games for interference on Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta in the first period of Saturday night's Game 2, the NHL's Department of Player Safety announced Sunday. 

Washington Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik has been suspended three games for interference on Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta in the first period of Saturday night's Game 2, the NHL's Department of Player Safety announced Sunday. 

The incident occurred 4:13 into the game. Orpik was assessed a minor penalty for interference at the time.

 

 

Maatta appeared dazed after the hit and had to be helped off the ice by his teammates. He did not return.

Explaining their decision to suspend Orpik, the Department of Player Safety said, "This hit is forceful, unacceptably high and excessively late."

 

Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan did not have an update on Maatta's condition after the game, but he did share his thoughts on Orpik's move.

"I thought it was a late hit," he said. "I thought it was a target to his head. I think it's the type of hit that everyone in hockey is trying to remove from the game. That's how I saw it."

Orpik will be eligible to return to the ice for Game 6 of the second-round series, if that game is necessary. The series is tied 1-1.

 

 

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