Bruins tough guy Shawn Thornton has been suspended 15 games for punching and injuring unsuspecting Penguins defenceman Brooks Orpik, which the NHL considered an "act of retribution."
Thornton went after Orpik during a stoppage in play, slew-footing him to the ice and punching him twice in the head. Orpik suffered a concussion and was taken off the ice on a stretcher and transported to the hospital.
Earlier, Orpik hit Boston winger Loui Eriksson, knocking him out of the game with a concussion. NHL vice president of player safety Brendan Shanahan pointed to the two-minute roughing penalty Thornton received for trying to get Orpik to fight as a sign of premeditation.
"This cannot be described as a hockey play that went bad, or do we consider this a spontaneous reaction to an incident that just occurred," Shanahan said in the video announcing the longest regular-season suspension during his tenure as the league's disciplinarian. "It is our view that this was an act of retribution for an incident that occurred earlier in the game, the result of this action by Thornton was a serious injury to Orpik."
Orpik has not played since the game, which was Dec. 7 at TD Garden in Boston, and is on injured reserve. He is still experiencing concussion-like symptoms and took part in a light skating session for the first time Friday.
Thornton has already served three games of this ban and will miss his fourth Saturday night when the Bruins visit the Vancouver Canucks.
The suspension comes after Thornton's in-person hearing with the department of player safety Friday in New York.
Pens forward James Neal was suspended for five games earlier this week for kneeing Brad Marchand in the head during the same game.
Thornton forfeits US$84,615.45 in salary as a result of the suspension, his first disciplinary action during his NHL career.
The 36-year-old from Oshawa, Ont., has three goals and 41 penalty minutes in 27 games this season.
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