NEW YORK (AP) — The NHL has suspended Phoenix Coyotes winger Raffi Torres 25 games for a hit that injured Chicago’s Marian Hossa.
Saturday’s announcement by the league was made hours before the Coyotes had a chance to eliminate Chicago in Game 5 of their first-round series.
Torres left his feet to hit an unsuspecting Hossa during Game 3 on Tuesday night, sending the Blackhawks winger smashing to the ice. Hossa was taken off on a stretcher and hasn’t appeared again in the series.
For Torres, it’s the third time he’s been suspended by the NHL for a questionable hit in the last 13 months.
He had a goal and an assist and averaged more than 19 minutes of ice time for Phoenix in the first three games of the series.
