NHL Suspends Senators' Greig 2 Games for Roughing Walker

The National Hockey League suspended Ottawa Senators forward Ridley Greig for two regular-season games Monday for roughing Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Sean Walker during Game 4 of their first-round playoff series.

The incident occurred midway through the second period of Ottawa's 4-2 loss on April 25 at the Canadian Tire Centre, which completed Carolina's four-game sweep and ended the Senators' postseason. During a scrum at a stoppage in play, Ottawa winger Warren Foegele held Walker in a headlock. Greig then approached and delivered two punches to Walker's face, including an overhand shot and a gloved uppercut that dropped him to his knees. Officials did not penalize Greig on the ice.

"This is roughing," the NHL Department of Player Safety said in its explanation video. "It is important to note that this is not a situation in which two players are squaring off in a mutual confrontation, only for the confrontation to escalate rapidly. In this situation, Walker is fully engaged with a Senators player when Greig knowingly approaches them and elects to throw two sucker punches towards the defenseless Walker with sufficient force to merit supplemental discipline."