Maple Leafs’ Kyle Clifford suspended one game for boarding Lightning’s Ross Colton in Game 1

Facing the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning, the Toronto Maple Leafs iced just two players with Cup rings for Game 1 on Monday night. In Game 2, they’ll have just one, as left winger Kyle Clifford has been suspended one game by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety.

Just 6:59 into the first period of Game 1, Clifford caught Lightning center Ross Colton with a hit from behind. With Colton’s back to Clifford the whole time, Colton never saw Clifford at all. It made for an open-and-shut case, with Clifford earning a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct.

“After Colton releases the puck, Clifford approaches from behind, and, having seen nothing but Colton’s numbers for some time, delivers a forceful check to the defenseless Colton, driving him dangerously into the boards. This is boarding,” explained a video released by the DOPS Tuesday.

The Leafs killed off the five-minute major, earned a major momentum shift and ended up winning the game but realized they dodged a bullet with Clifford misbehaving.

“Cliff’s hit is not a hit you can make there,” admitted Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe after the game, though he opined that the Leafs’ fourth line has been better with Clifford than without him throughout the season.

Clifford had already earned a $2,500 fine from the DOPS less than two weeks ago for high-sticking the Lightning’s Corey Perry during the Leafs and Lightning’s final regular season meeting. Clifford has been fined three times in his career but had never been suspended before Tuesday’s news. That Colton finished the game didn’t affect whether Clifford was suspended, but it may have shortened the length of the ban. Playoff suspensions are weighted differently than regular-season bans based on the fact teams play far fewer playoff games. A one-game playoff suspension is the equivalent of a multi-game regular season suspension.