Pierre-Edouard Bellemare deserves a suspension for his hit from behind on Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov in Game 3, and he’s likely to get it. The NHL’s Department of Player Safety will have a hearing with Bellemare Tuesday.
It’s a phone hearing, so the NHL won’t look to suspend Bellemare more than five games. But with the Flyers down 0-3 in the series anyway, it’s likely his season is over — and the ban could drag into next year as well.
Here’s the hit:
In Bellemare’s defense, this probably wasn’t intentional. But it was terrible, and you simply can’t drive a guy from behind into the boards like that. This is atypical of Bellemare’s game and he’s not even close to a repeat offender, so maybe that will play into the NHL’s decision. But this will be suspension worthy and … well, we’ll probably see you next year Peb.
