Rangers forward, Brendan Lemieux has been suspended for games 1 and 2 against Carolina

Updated:

Well it took over four months, but the NHL Department of Player Safety has finally given Brendan Lemieux his suspension. The Rangers rugged forward will miss games one and two of the Stanley Cup Qualifying round against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Brendan Lemieux suspended for two games

The NHL paused play on March 12th. Rangers forward Brendan Lemieux put a hit on an unsuspecting Joonas Donskoi in a game against the Colorado Avalanche the night before. The NHL’s Department of Player Safety deemed it an illegal hit and suspended him on March 13th.

At the time of the suspension, the DOPS wanted to wait until Return to Play parameters were set prior to announcing the number of games. We now know it is two.

Brendan Lemieux suspension is two games (Photo Brett Holmes/IGetty Images)

Huge opportunity for a young forward

David Quinn will now need to find a player to take the left side on the third or fourth line in Lemieux’s absence. Will he go with the reliable Steven Fogarty who played in that last game against Colorado?

Or does a player like Julien Gauthier try and play the off wing? How about Vitali Kravtsov getting a taste of NHL action? While it is unlikely that the rookie Kravtsov will see action this post-season, this is an opportunity for Gauthier to show his versatility.

By Anthony Scultore

Anthony Scultore has been covering the New York Rangers and the NHL since 2014. His work also appears at... More about Anthony Scultore

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