Canadiens Mike Hoffman Wants To Know How Cross-Check That Turned His Chin Into Pulp Is Only Worth One-Game Suspension

Montreal Canadiens forward Mike Hoffman has quite the battle scar on his chin, and it has him wondering how the man who gave it to him — Boston Bruins A.J. Greer — was only dealt a one-game suspension.

When you see his face, you'll think it's a fair question,

It happened on Thursday night just before a neutral zone faceoff. Hoffman jabbed at Greer with his stick, only for the Bruin to deliver a quick cross-check straight to the chops.

The puck never even left the linesman's hand.

Greer was given a 5-minute major for cross-checking and a 10-minute misconduct. Hoffman had to go off the ice for repairs but returned to the game rocking a half cage to protect his chin which had been cross-checked so hard he probably had the word "Bauer" stamped backward into it.

To the surprise of no one, the Bruins won this now, topping the Habs by a score of 4-2.

The next day, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced

"So, I've gotten a two-game suspension for cross-checking a guy in the back of the helmet," Hoffman said, his jaw still clearly in some discomfort. "A full-blown intentional cross-check to the face; one game... hm."

That's a fair point. It looked like a nasty cross-check on video, but that video of Hoffman on his couch shows how much damage it did.

As for that two-game sussy Hoffman was alluding to, it happened in 2016 and was a tad more aggressive than he made it sound.

You be the judge.

Pretty bad. Still, it can certainly be debated that it wasn't that much worse than what Greer gave him.

Oh well. The only thing consistent about the Department of Player Safety is its inconsistency.

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