David Backes faces NHL discipline hearing Friday
If suspended, Backes would miss Wednesday’s Winter Classic.
Bruins right wing David Backes will have a hearing Friday for his check to the head of New Jersey’s Blake Coleman in the Bruins’ 5-2 loss Thursday night, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced.
Late in the game, with the Bruins trailing 4-2 and skating with an empty net, Coleman gathered a loose puck and attempted to fire it down ice when Backes skated in from his right and landed an elbow to Coleman’s head.
Backes was assessed a minor penalty for an illegal check to the head, but could face a suspension today, which could cause him to miss next Wednesday’s Winter Classic, when the Bruins will face the Chicago Blackhawks at Notre Dame Stadium.
Backes was suspended for three games in March for a hit on Detroit’s Frans Nielsen.
The Bruins play one game – Saturday in Buffalo – before Tuesday’s Winter Classic.
The last time the Bruins appeared in the Winter Classic in 2016, they were without Brad Marchand, who was suspended two days before the game for clipping Mark Borowiecki of the Ottawa Senators on Dec. 29, 2015.
[fragment number=0]
