The NHL reduced New York Rangers forward Daniel Carcillo’s suspension from 10 games to six on Tuesday. The reduction comes after Carcillo had appealed the suspension.
Carcillo was suspended on May 23 for supposedly elbowing an NHL official Scott Driscoll, a linesman, twice during Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Montreal Canadiens. Driscoll was trying to keep Carcillo away from a fight. The original suspension would have had Carcillo miss all of the Stanley Cup Finals. However Carcillo has already served three games and will be eligible to play in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals, according to the Associated Press.
The rule that Carcillo had violated and suspended for was Rule 40.3, deliberately applying physical force to an official. A violation of that rule comes with a 10-game suspension automatically. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said after looking at the incident that Carcillo’s punishment should have been for violating Rule 40.4, deliberately applying "physical force to an official for the sole purpose of getting free of such official during or immediately following an altercation,” according to ESPN.
“After considering Carcillo’s appeal during a hearing at the N.H.L.'s New York office on Friday, May 30, the commissioner ruled that Carcillo’s actions were more appropriately deemed a violation of Rule 40.4 for deliberately applying ‘physical force to an official for the sole purpose of getting free of such official during or immediately following an altercation,' ” the NHL said in a statement, the New York Times notes. “The commissioner determined that as appropriately reclassified under Rule 40.4, and under the totality of the circumstances, a suspension of six games was the proper penalty.”
The Stanley Cup Finals between the Rangers and the Los Angeles Kings begins on Wednesday. It will be interesting to see if Carcillo will play in Game 4.