TORONTO — After knocking Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak out of Tuesday’s first-round playoff opener with an illegal hit to the head, Maple Leafs forward Michael Bunting was suspended three games by the league’s Department of Player Safety on Wednesday.
In Game 1, Bunting received a five-minute match penalty — and the ejection that accompanies it — after leaving his feet to launch his left elbow into Cernak’s head as the players approached the corner to chase down a puck with 4:20 remaining in the second period of the Lightning’s 7-3 win at Scotiabank Arena.
Cernak remained on the ice for several moments and received help from Lightning head athletic trainer Tom Mulligan. He eventually got to his feet, aided by teammates Steven Stamkos and Mikhail Sergachev, and left the ice. Cernak didn’t return to the game.
