St. Louis Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo has been suspended for four games for his dangerous cross check on Nashville's Viktor Arvidsson that happened Saturday night. It has been confirmed that Arvidsson was injured on the play and will be sidelined for four to six weeks, which isn't really surprising given the viciousness of Bortuzzo's attack.
According to the Department of Player Safety, it was Bortuzzo's second cross check to Arvidsson while he was in a vulnerable position that earned him the suspension. In a video, DoPS explained that while the first cross check correctly earned Bortuzzo a minor penalty, it wasn't anything out of the ordinary and happens regularly during battles around the net. It says Bortuzzo's second cross check was utterly unnecessary and delivered for no other reason that he was frustrated with being called for a minor penalty. Bortuzzo is also a repeat offender. He has been fined twice in his career for cross checking, which was taken into account when determining his suspension. Bortuzzo will forfeit $67,073.16 in salary for his four-game suspension.
You can view the full video from the Department of Player Safety below.
