Kyle Clifford missed nearly the entire game Monday night for the Toronto Maple Leafs after earning a misconduct early in the first period, and he’ll have to sit even longer. The Department of Player Safety has announced that Clifford will have a hearing Tuesday for boarding Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ross Colton.
After delivering a hit in the corner, Clifford raced up the ice and hit Colton, late, directly from behind, into the boards. While the Tampa Bay forward did not appear to suffer a serious injury, the on-ice officials gave Clifford a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct. Toronto managed to climb their way out of the hole that the veteran forward put them in, but now will have to likely use a different look on the fourth line in Game 2.
Notably, just a few games ago Clifford was involved in another incident that included the Lightning. On April 22, he was handed a fine for his high-stick on Corey Perry during a scrum. That recent history, despite being of a different nature, will likely factor into the punishment for Clifford.
The Maple Leafs do have several other options for the lineup, though none bring the same kind of physicality as the 31-year-old winger. Even more, head coach Sheldon Keefe spoke glowingly after the game about how much Clifford adds defensively to that group, noting that the line has been the best when it includes him.
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