NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has upheldMorgan Rielly’s five-game suspension for cross-checking after the NHL Players’ Association filed for an appeal.
The league’s department of player safety banned the Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman last week for his cross-check to the head of Senators forward Ridly Greig in the dying moments of Ottawa’s 5-3 victory on Feb. 10.
Rielly, who was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct, lunged at Greig up high after the centre fired a slapshot into an empty net from close range with 5.1 seconds left in regulation. Greig wasn’t injured on the play.
Bettman’s ruling on the appeal is final.
