After being tossed twice in less than a week, Dallas Stars forward Mikko Rantanen will now serve an automatic one-game suspension.
Rantanen’s latest game misconduct came Saturday at the Saddledome, when he was assessed a major for boarding after a blatant hit from behind on Calgary Flames winger Matt Coronato.
Coronato needed significant stitching to close a gash on the bridge of his nose.
Rantanen, 29, had also received a five-minute penalty for boarding — and a game misconduct — four nights earlier for a controversial check on New York Islanders defenceman Alexander Romanov.
“I thought it was a terrible hit,” said Flames head coach Ryan Huska of Rantanen’s cheap shot on Coronato. “Didn’t we just see that on TV? I didn’t think it was a good hit at all.”
Rantanen, who is best known as a scorer but suddenly leads the league with 57 penalty minutes, will miss Tuesday’s date with the Edmonton Oilers.
“Mikko Rantanen has been automatically suspended for one game under Rule 23.6, Physical Infractions Category,” the NHL explained in a release. “In regular-season league games, any player who incurs a total of two game misconduct penalties in the Physical Infractions Category, before playing in 41 consecutive regular-season league games without such penalty, shall be suspended automatically for the next league game of his team.”
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