Brad Marchand Has Been Suspended THREE Games For Slew-Footing Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Brad Marchand has been suspended THREE GAMES for his slew-foot on Oliver Ekman-Larsson Sunday night (wasn't called a penalty on the ice). Now hear me out, if you hear Marchand, slew foot and suspended in one sentence you probably think it makes sense. Problem is if you look at the actual play, it's more of a battle with Marchand and OEL who get tangled up and Marchand then sweeps the leg. Marchand does not lead with the slew-foot. However, in the eyes of the DOPS...
"What causes this play to rise to the level of supplemental discipline is Marchand's use of both his upper and lower body to take Ekman-Larsson to the ice in a dangerous fashion, and the speed at which the players are traveling toward the boards."
PK Subban has quite literally slew-footed (and injured) multiple people this season and has only been slapped with a few fines. Maybe the league is sending a message with Marchand's suspension. But it just goes to show the inconsistencies with DOPS. Brad Marchand gets 3 games because his name is Brad Marchand. The league cited his "relevant history" despite not being suspended since 2018. Give him a game, fine, but three seems crazy. Then again, when has the DOPS ever made sense.
Tough break for the B's as Marchand has been their best player thus far, he'll miss Tuesday night's game vs. Detroit, Thursday night's meeting with Nashville and Saturday's game against Tampa Bay.