Washington’s Mike Green suspended for hit on Lightning’s Brett Connolly

Posted Mar 9, 2012 by Erik Erlendsson

Updated Mar 9, 2012 at 08:09 PM

Washington defenseman Mike Green earned a three-game suspension for a hit to the head of Tampa Bay rookie Brett Connolly during Thursday’s game.

Green landed an elbow to the head of Connolly at the 11:03 mark of the second period driving Connolly’s head into the boards. No penalty was called on the play and Connolly returned to the game in the third period, but was left with a large bump on his head.

“Green sees Connolly (bent down), slows down, waits, loads up and then targets Connolly’s head making it the principal point of contact,’’ NHL director of player safety Brendan Shanahan explained in a video presentation.

You can see the video explanation in it’s entirety here