Martin Pospisil was back in the news for the wrong reasons during Monday's game against the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Calgary Flames forward was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for a hit he laid on Taylor Hall during the second period of the contest.
The play came with the Flames leading 4-1 in the middle frame, as Hall skated along the boards in Calgary's end with the puck. Pospisil appeared to wind up before unloading directly into the numbers on Hall's back, sending the forward face first into the boards.
Chicago immediately came to the defence of its teammate as the two teams came together while Hall skated to the bench and went down the tunnel. He didn't return for the rest of the period, but was back on the ice in the third.
A penalty was immediately called on Pospisil, and referees decided on the extra punishment for the 25-year-old.
The Blackhawks scored once on their ensuing power play, with Connor Bedard registering his 12th goal of the year. However, the Flames negated the damage on Yegor Sharangovich's short-handed marker to maintain a three-goal lead.
Pospisil, the six-foot-two Slovakian, was called for three major penalties between the All-Star Break and the end of the 2023-24 season, including a boarding call on Seattle Kraken defenceman Vince Dunn that resulted in a three-game suspension in March 2024. This is his first major penalty this season.
Entering Monday's game, Pospisil had two goals, 10 assists, 134 hits and 51 penalty minutes through 41 games for Calgary.
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