February 27, 2017
There was some anticipation that Flyers defenseman Brandon Manning could miss some time for channeling his inner James Harrison in Saturday night’s Stadium Series game in Pittsburgh.
And after chatting with senior vice president of player safety Stephane Quintal on the phone, the 26-year-old Manning was suspended two games for his hit on Penguins forward Jake Guentzel. Quintal’s reasoning was that the open-ice hit was both high and late:
During the Flyers’ 4-2 loss, played in windy conditions at Heinz Field, Manning’s hit wasn’t called interference.
The Courier-Post’s Dave Isaac had some good reaction from Manning, who you can see has a couple of inches on 20 pounds on Guentzel. But regardless if you can argue that the NHL Department of Player Safety’s ruling in this case is a bit harsh, Manning will miss the Flyers’ next two games against Colorado and Florida at home.
Manning had been neither fined nor suspended in his NHL career prior to this hit.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
