Wild D Ryan Suter suspended two games for elbowing Steve Downie
The Minnesota Wild will be without top defenseman Ryan Suter for two games after he was suspended for elbowing Steve Downie of the Penguins.
By
Chris Peters
•
1 min read
The NHL’s Department of Player Safety has suspended Minnesota Wild defenseman Ryan Suter for two games for elbowing Pittsburgh Penguins forward Steve Downie Tuesday night.
Suter’s suspension comes at a terrible time for the Wild as they try to get out of the gigantic rut they’ve been in for the better part of the last month. Since December, the team is 4-10-4 and now they’ll be without their top defenseman for two games.
It was pretty clear the second Suter elbowed Downie that he would be suspended. Suter sticking out the chicken wing after already breaking up the play was about as blatant as it gets. The veteran blueliner doesn’t have any disciplinary history at all, but going out of his way to make contact with an opponent’s head is always going to be frowned upon.
Downie left the game and did not return, but was not seriously injured on the play according to DPS. If Suter had a history, he’d probably be looking at least a game or two more, but for playing as much as he does, he’s kept it pretty clean over his career.
The Wild will look to break a six-game losing streak against the Buffalo Sabres Thursday and will host the Arizona Coyotes Saturday. The good news is that they’re playing teams at the bottom of the league while Suter is away. The bad news is that the Wild are dangerously close to falling further into the basement themselves. It’s been a really rough stretch in Minnesota and this is yet another unfortunate hit.
