Utah HC Defensemen Facing Possible Suspension After Violating Lesser Known NHL Rule in Last Night's Game
Utah Hockey Club blueliner Robert Bortuzzo could get a suspension tonight after he violated a rule that many fans have not heard of.
The rule in question is 70.2. It prevents players from jumping off the bench and immediately dropping the gloves.
Theoretically, without the rule, players could jump off the bench and start a fight to break up play when things are going against their team.
Bortuzzo violated the rule last night by immediately dropping the gloves and grabbing Bruins centre Mark Kastelic as he was skating by the benches at the end of his shift.
The last time a player violated this rule was this year, during the preseason. Tampa Bay Lighting forward Connor Geekie got a one-game suspension for it.
Unsurprisingly, fans were not happy with Bortuzzo for the fight. It was not a fair fight as he was obviously fresh while Kastelic was at the end of his shift.
Perhaps this came up while the two players were in the penalty box as they were not done. It seems that Kastelic was not finished with the 35-year-old just yet.
In the second period, the two men dropped the gloves a second time. This time, the fight was a bit more fair as both of them were on the ice for a regular shift before things escalated yet again.
Bortuzzo has appeared in 566 career regular-season NHL games. He has 20 goals and 74 points to show for it along with 517 penalty minutes. With the two fights tonight, he is up to 57 career fights as well.
Be sure to keep an eye out tomorrow morning as we await word on Bortuzzo's fate.
