Colton Sissons not suspended for Game 6 despite match penalty

Nashville Predators center Colton Sissons will be free to play in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final despite receiving a match penalty in the previous game. A match penalty is supposed to come with a suspension attached, but the Department of Player Safety announced Friday that Sissons’ suspension will not be enforced.

Sissons received a match penalty for cross-checking Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta in the face with just 34 seconds left in Game 5. The contest was effectively over when the two players were tussling in the defensive zone for positioning when Sissons caught Maatta up high with his stick:

Play stopped as Maatta skated away and a brawl started on the ice. Eventually, Sissons was given a match penalty and ejected from the game. Per NHL rules, that’s supposed to initiate an automatic suspension.

Here’s part of NHL rule 21.2 via Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston: “In addition to the match penalty, the player shall be automatically suspended from further competition until the Commissioner has ruled on the issue.”

The Department of Player Safety effectively fills the role of the commissioner here, determining whether Sissons’ actions deserved to uphold the suspension or the initial ejection was enough punishment.

With the Predators in need of a Game 6 win to keep the series alive, Sissons being active is huge. They’re already shorthanded at center without star Ryan Johansen, so losing Sissons would’ve made them even thinner at a position where their opponents use Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Surely there are some fans out there wondering whether the NHL considered all this when deciding to let Sissons play — after all, the league benefits if this series hits Game 7.

Then again, the Department of Player Safety’s rulings are rarely easy to predict, so it’s not surprising that Sissons is playing in Game 6. That’s especially so, given how inconsistent NHL officiating has been the entire postseason.