DETROIT (AP) -Pittsburgh star Evgeni Malkin won’t be suspended for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals despite drawing an instigator penalty in the final 19 seconds of the Penguins’ 3-1 loss to Detroit in Game 2 on Sunday night.
Under NHL rules, any player drawing an instigating penalty in the final five minutes is to be suspended for the next game, but the rule allows some flexibility depending on the circumstances.
“None of the criteria in this rule applied in this situation,” NHL director of hockey operations Colin Campbell said in a statement issued by the league. “Suspensions are applied under this rule when a team attempts to send a message in the last five minutes by having a player instigate a fight. A suspension could also be applied when a player seeks retribution for a prior incident. Neither was the case here and therefore the one game suspension is rescinded.”
Malkin, who leads playoff scorers with 30 points, scored Pittsburgh’s only goal in Game 2.
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