Lightning’s J.J. Moser suspended two games for boarding

The NHL Department of Player Safety announced on Monday that Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman J.J. Moser has been suspended two games for boarding Florida Panthers center Jesper Boqvist.

The infraction occurred about 14 minutes into the first period of Saturday’s game between the Lightning and Panthers, when Boqvist was going behind the net to collect a puck that was dumped into the Lightning zone. Moser was covering Boqvist, and in an attempt to knock the Panther off the puck, he went for the hit, getting him right in the numbers as he crushed Boqvist into the boards.

The Department of Player Safety cited that with Boqvist making no sudden movements that Moser had to adjust to, the onus was on Moser to make the hit safely, making the hit suspendable. However, Moser has never received a fine or suspension previously in his career, so they only gave him two games for the infraction.

Another driving force for the suspension was likely due to the context prior to the game. The two teams had already gotten into shenanigans during Thursday’s preseason game, which they combined for 186 penalty minutes, while Lightning forward Scott Sabourin had also made a suspendable play earlier in the game.

Saturday’s matchup saw a combined 322 penalty minutes and 16 ejections between the two teams, including the five-minute major penalty for boarding and 10-minute misconduct. The Panthers went on to win the game 7-0.

With the two-game suspension, Moser will miss the Lightning’s season opener against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday and the following game on Saturday against the New Jersey Devils. Moser will make his season debut next Monday when the Lightning visit the Boston Bruins.

In addition, the Lightning have been fined $100,000 and Lightning head coach Jon Cooper has been fined $25,000 for the events that occurred during Saturday’s game. This is in addition to Sabourin, who was suspended for four games, and Roman Schmidt and Gage Goncalves, who received fines.