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Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere won’t be in the lineup when Philadelphia takes the ice on Friday night.
Gostisbehere will miss two games while serving a suspension for a hit made late in Tuesday’s game against the Penguins.
Philadelphia’s Shayne Gostisbehere has been suspended for two games for Boarding Pittsburgh’s Mark Friedman. https://t.co/1iPEgVipqH
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) May 5, 2021
Late in the game with the Penguins nursing a 3-goal lead, Friedman skated towards the Flyers’ net, putting a feather in the cap for Pittsburgh, scoring an empty-net goal, making it 7-3 with a few minutes left in the game.
Dangerous and cheap play by Gostisbehere here, cross-checking Mark Friedman from behind after EN goal. Friedman goes flying into the boards pic.twitter.com/VgVHzdYY5o
— NHL Safety Watch (@NHLSafetyWatch) May 5, 2021
Gostisbehere then boarded Friedman from behind, pushing him into the end boards.
The NHL’s Department of Player Safety said that Gostisbehere adjusted his skating path as well as took a hard stride towards Friedman. Player Safety officials added that the shove from behind came at a time that Friedman shouldn’t have been anticipating contact.
Gostisbehere was assessed a 2-minute minor penalty for cross-checking on the hit.
It didn’t appear that Friedman was injured on the hit.