Flames' Matthew Tkachuk suspended 1 game for spearing Leafs' Matt Martin
Calgary Flames winger Matthew Tkachuk has been suspended for the second time in three weeks.
The NHL Department of Player Safety announced on Thursday that Tkachuk has been suspended one game for spearing Matt Martin from the bench during Toronto’s 2-1 shootout win over Calgary on Wednesday.
Tkachuk, who wasn’t penalized on the play, was suspended on Nov. 17 for a similar incident. The Flames forward was handed a five-minute major and a game misconduct after jabbing Detroit’s Luke Witkowski in the leg with his stick as he was leaving the ice, sparking a brawl between the two teams. That was the second suspension of his young career, as he earned a two-game ban last March for elbowing Drew Doughty in the head.
Martin said after the game that he didn’t feel the spear, but called the incident “child’s play” and said if Tkachuk was going to do something like that he “may as well make it count and try to hurt somebody.”
Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock also chimed in after the game, calling it “junior hockey stuff.”
Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock on #Flames LW Matthew Tkachuk's spear from bench: “That’s junior hockey stuff. He’ll learn over time. But man, you gotta give Tkachuk credit. He played a good game. He played hard. No reason for that stuff.”
— Wes Gilbertson (@WesGilbertson) December 7, 2017
Calgary Flames winger Matthew Tkachuk has been suspended for the second time in three weeks.
