NEW JERSEY
VS.
TORONTO


BUFFALO
VS.
PITTSBURGH


COLORADO
VS.
LOS ANGELES


DALLAS
VS.
ST. LOUIS


Thursday, May 3
Updated: May 5, 2:38 PM ET

Domi suspended for the rest of the playoffs
ESPN.com news services

TORONTO – Tie Domi has been suspended for the rest of the Stanley Cup playoffs after his vicious elbow to the head of New Jersey defenseman Scott Niedermayer in the closing seconds of the playoff game Thursday night.

Tie Domi's hit on Scott Niedermayer was a clear cheap shot and should have never happened. The incident was the epitome of an elbowing penalty with an intent to injure.

  • Engblom's complete analysis
  • "Mr. Domi's actions have no place in our game and are being punished accordingly, " said NHL executive vice president Colin Campbell. "He has forfeited the privilege of further participation in this year's Stanley Cup playoffs."

    Campbell's ruling came less than 24 hours after Domi knocked out Niedermayer with a vicious hit near the boards with less than 20 seconds left in the Leafs' 3-1 victory in Game 4. The victory evened the best-of-seven series at 2-2.

    Domi was assessed a match penalty for deliberate injury of opponent, which includes an automatic suspension pending a meeting with league officials.

    Campbell met with Domi, Leafs coach Pat Quinn and team president Ken Dryden for about an hour in the league's offices in Toronto and then issued his ruling about five hours later.

    If the Maple Leafs are eliminated from the playoffs by the Devils, Domi's suspension will carry over to the first eight games of next season.

    Niedermayer flew home with the Devils to New Jersey after the game and he was hospitalized overnight. He underwent a battery of tests Friday and was released. He will not play in Game 5 on Saturday night, general manager Lou Lamoriello said.

    Neither Domi nor Niedermayer were immediately available for comments on the ruling.

    If the Maple Leafs advanced to the final, the ruling has the potential of suspending Domi for 17 games – the final three games of the Eastern Conference semifinal, the conference finals and the Stanley Cup finals, if each series went the entire seven games.

    A 12-year veteran, Domi has been one of the NHL's top tough guys for years. while not overly big at 5-foot-10 and 200 pounds, he had never been afraid to take on an opposing team's biggest player.

    However, he also has not been known to be a cheap-shot artist.

    That's what made his hit Thursday night so surprising.

    With less than 20 seconds remaining, Niedermayer was skating along the boards in the Toronto zone when Domi caught him across the head, well behind the play.

    Unconscious and lying flat on the ice for about three minutes, Niedermayer was taken off on a stretcher before managing to get up and walk into the Devils' dressing room.

    NHL's Deliberate injury rule
    Rule 52. Deliberate Injury of Opponents:

    (a) A match penalty shall be imposed on a player who deliberately injures an opponent in any manner.
    (b) In addition to the match penalty, the player shall be automatically suspended from further competition until the Commissioner has ruled on the issue.

    "It's an insult to hockey, especially at this time when the game needs to reach a wider spectrum of fans," Devils center Bobby Holik said Friday.

    Devils captain Scott Stevens said there was no excuse for the hit.

    "That's like me walking down the street and laying you out with an elbow," Stevens said Friday.

    Domi was also fined $1,000 by the league in late March for squirting spectators in Philadelphia with water while sitting in the penalty box and then getting involved in an altercation with one spectator.

    Niedermayer was able to walk into the dressing room and was not taken to a hospital following the game.

    "There's a way to get back at the Maple Leafs," forward Bobby Holik said, "and the best way is to win the next game."

    Play was stopped with 7.4 seconds remaining as trainers, medical personnel and teammates attended to Niedermayer, who lay flat on the ice for a number of minutes just in front of the Toronto bench.

    "When you see a guy laying there, it's not a pretty sight no matter what the case, what the situation," said forward Scott Gomez, who did not see the hit when it occurred.

    Lamoriello reserved comment after the game.

    "If I say anything now, it doesn't do anybody any good," he said.

    Stevens, the Devils' captain, was in the penalty box at the time, saw the hit when it happened, reacted angrily and was issued a 10-minute misconduct. A minute earlier, Stevens traded punches with Domi in the New Jersey net.

    "We don't need any more motivation," right wing Randy McKay said. "It's certainly going to band us together. I hope Nieder's OK. I hate to see that happen."

    Domi was not penalized for the exchange with Stevens, who was sent off for roughing.

    "There's no reason a physical game should end like that," Devils goalie Martin Brodeur said. "It was a nice playoff game until that incident.

    "If the league does the right thing, he's not going to be playing for the rest of the playoffs. We're not going to retaliate. We've lost one of our best defensemen. We've got to compensate somehow."

    Claude Loiselle, the NHL's manager of operations who has monitored the entire series, would not comment on any further disciplinary action. He would only cite the rule book regarding deliberate intent to injure infractions.

    Few saw what happened at the time, relying on replays after the game.

    "Disgusting," New Jersey forward John Madden said. "Irresponsible. A person like that shouldn't be given the right to run around with a hockey stick in his hand and play in the league."

    Devils coach Larry Robinson was spotted mouthing the words: "What happened?" after play was stopped.

    "It was a cheap shot," he said afterward. "The league will handle it.

    "We shouldn't see him back in this series," Robinson said of Domi. "There's no room for that in hockey. We're trying to sell a sport, and that's no way to sell it. I'm really surprised at Tie."

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    ALSO SEE
    Niedermayer says Domi made threat earlier in series

    More problems for Leafs: Quinn shoves photographer

    Leafs' victory over Devils marred by Domi's hit

    Shactman: Devils' revenge on Leafs? Winning the series

    Shactman: Leafs concerned, not apologetic

    NHL's longest suspensions

    AUDIO/VIDEO
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     Toronto Maple Leafs news conference
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     Players react to Tie Domi's hit on Scott Niedermayer.
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     Scott Niedermayer is taken from the ice on a stretcher, compliments of a Tie Domi elbow.
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     Physical play set the tone for Game 4 in Toronto.
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     NHL Director of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell says the league's top concern is protecting the players.
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     Toronto teammates Gary Roberts and Mats Sundin react to Tie Domi's hit on Scott Niedermayer.
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