The NHL punished Columbus Blue Jackets forward Matt Calvert for viciously cross-checking Tom Kuhnhackl of the Pittsburgh Penguins, but few are satisfied with the one-game duration of the suspension.
Calvert received a two-minute minor penalty in that Game 2 win for Pittsburgh.
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The Department of Player Safety refers to cross-checking as a a “fairly common infraction” that is normally appropriately addressed by penalties. In this case, factors elevated it to a suspension: it was not a hockey play, even if the blow was “only delivered to the arm.” The league also believes that this falls into the category of message-sending by Calvert:
His lack of a suspension history helped his cause. Again, plenty of people find it to be an unsatisfying suspension.
The decision is wrong, I feel, but the video explanation is interesting. The fact that it was "message-sending" factored into the decision. https://t.co/O0J9ZL5Jht
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) April 15, 2017
Long story short: no Calvert for Game 3, but he can return in Game 4.