In the first period of the game between the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston's Andrew Ference hit Mikhail Grabovski hard and high with an elbow as the two came together in the corner:
Bruins vs. Maple Leafs: Andrew Ference elbows Mikhail Grabovski
This nasty hit might garner the first disciplinary review of the post-season.
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No penalty was called on the play, and the game kept moving so quickly that nobody really paid much attention to the incident, but looking back on it now it seems like a serious infraction. If Grabovski had been hurt on the play, this would almost certainly warrant a suspension for Ference -- but because he was able to shake it off and keep playing, who knows what the NHL will do?
Suspensions are rare in the playoffs, are are often reduced to fewer games than the same infractions would incur in the regular season, due to the elevated importance of each game. It remains to be seen what punishment -- if any -- Ference gets for this elbow.
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