Bruins winger to have hearing with NHL for cross-checking

The incident occurred late in the first period of Thursday night’s game between the Bruins and Canadiens. As both teams were preparing for a faceoff, Greer and Hoffman were giving each other aggressive stick taps while waiting for the puck to drop. That proceeded to increase in intensity, reaching a boiling point when Greer went for a cross-check to Hoffman’s face.

Greer received a five-minute major penalty for the infraction, as well as a game misconduct. The Canadiens would score on the preceding power play to cut the Bruins 2-0 lead in half, but the Bruins would go on to win the game 4-2. In just 2:13 of ice time, Greer had just a shot on goal and a shot block on his stat sheet to go along with the 15 penalty minutes.

Greer has managed to establish himself as a regular NHL player this season with the Bruins, and as a result, is having a career year. In 52 games this season, he has five goals, six assists, and 11 points, with five of them coming in his first four games of the season.

Greer is a former second-round pick of the Colorado Avalanche in 2015, and before this season had played just 47 career NHL games between the Avalanche and New Jersey Devils. He’s in the first of a two-year contract with a $762,500 cap hit that he signed with the Bruins in the 2022 offseason. It’s also the highest average annual value of his career.

Even if a suspension results from the hearing, the only impact it will have on the Bruins season, if any, is their pursuit of any records, as they’ve already clinched a playoff spot. They pretty much have the Presidents’ Trophy locked up at this point as well, as their 55-11-5 record has them 15 points ahead of the second-place Carolina Hurricanes.