Fans and players alike knew this was coming; Chris Stewart was suspended three games for his hit against Niklas Kronwall last night in the Blues’ 2-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings.
From the NHL:
St. Louis Blues forward Chris Stewart has been suspended, without pay, for three games for shoving Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall(notes) from behind and into the boards during NHL Game No. 252 Tuesday night in St. Louis, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today. Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and based on his average annual salary, Stewart will forfeit $46,621.62. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
The incident occurred at 11:14 of the first period. Stewart will miss games Nov. 17 vs. Florida, Nov. 19 at Minnesota and Nov. 22 vs. Los Angeles. He will be eligible to return Nov. 23 at Pittsburgh.
As Greg Wyshynski points out, for similar hits by Matt Zuccarello on Trevor Lewis and by Dan Carcillo on Joni Pitkanen garnered different punishments. Zuccarello was fined and Carcillo, a repeat offender of a myriad of things, was suspended for two games. Shanny seems to be upping the penalty for every penalty to get players’ attention.
Here’s Brendan Shanahan’s explination video: