Ottawa – For the second time in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Anaheim Ducks will have to do without the player considered the best defenseman in the NHL.
Chris Pronger, the former Norris Trophy defender, was suspended by the NHL for Monday’s Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals because of an elbow to the head of Ottawa forward Dean McAmmond in Game 3. NHL director of hockey operations Colin Campbell said it is a difficult thing suspending a player in the Finals, but Pronger’s actions were too much to ignore.
“It was hard, but on the other hand a player did get knocked out and he may not play tomorrow night either,” Campbell said.
Campbell has suspended players in previous Cup Finals. He suspended Detroit’s Jiri Fischer in the 2002 Finals against Carolina, and Calgary’s Ville Nieminen in 2004 against Tampa Bay.
Pronger was suspended one game by the NHL in the Western Conference finals for an elbow to the head of Detroit’s Tomas Holmstrom.
Ottawa can even the series 2-2 with a win in Game 4, at Scotiabank Place.
