Max Pacioretty Suspensed for 3 Games

The NHL announced this evening that Habs forward Max Pacioretty has been suspended for 3 games for his hit to the head of Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang. The hit allegedly broke Letang's nose, though he returned to the game minutes later.

Here is Brendan Shanahan's explanation of the suspension:

Three games seems a little stiff for that hit. I had predicted 1-2, because while it was a hit to the head, I would disagree with Shanahan and his team about Letang's head. To me, it does move significantly as he shoots, after Pacioretty has committed to the hit. A 3 game suspension seems inconsistent with other recent non-suspensions by the league, including to Zack Bogosian and Milan Lucic.

It will be interesting to see how Martin fills the gap caused by Pacioretty's absence on this road trip. Smart money may be on the return of Andrei Markov for Thursday night's game to avoid starting him in a back-to-back. If that's the case, it'll likely be that Frederic St. Denis plays at forward Wednesday night, and is then pushed from the line-up to make room for Markov, with Yannick Weber shifting from defense to forward.