Patrick Marleau will be in the San Jose Sharks lineup for a pivotal Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday night.
Marleau won't be disciplined by the league after a high hit on Pittsburgh Penguins forward Bryan Rust in Game 1 on Monday, the NHL's Department of Player Safety announced.
Department of player safety says Rust's shoulders and chest were the main point of contact on Marleau hit and that Rust was off-balance.
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) May 31, 2016
Here's the hit:
Rust was forced from the game, and was diagnosed as day to day with an upper-body injury, with his condition expected to be updated Tuesday. The Penguins will certainly be unhappy with the league's decision, as head coach Mike Sullivan called the play a "blindside hit to the head."
Marleau said after Game 1 that he didn't expect to be hearing from the league, saying he kept his elbow down on the play, which the video corroborates.
"I just kind of let him skate into me," Marleau said, according to Pro Hockey Talk's Jason Brough.
Both Rust and Marleau found the back of the net in Game 1.
