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St. Louis Blues Forward Ryan Reaves Suspended 3 Games

By Patrick Karraker

Nov 25, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; St. Louis Blues right wing Ryan Reaves (75) skates with the puck against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the second period at the CONSOL Energy Center. The Penguins won 4-3 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 25, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; St. Louis Blues right wing Ryan Reaves (75) skates with the puck against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the second period at the CONSOL Energy Center. The Penguins won 4-3 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /
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St. Louis Blues forward Ryan Reaves will miss the next three games after he illegally checked San Jose Sharks defenseman Matt Tennyson into the boards on Monday night.

The NHL announced on Wednesday afternoon that St. Louis Blues forward Ryan Reaves has received a three-game suspension–which will cost him $18,145.17, a fine that will be donated to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund–after he illegally checked San Jose Sharks defenseman Matt Tennyson into the boards during Monday night’s 6-3 loss. Reaves was ejected from the contest, and the Blues were forced to play through a five-minute Sharks power play which produced two goals for the opposition.

In a video posted Wednesday on NHL.com, director of player safety Patrick Burke said that Tennyson was “never eligible to be checked by Reaves on the play”, as he faced the boards for the entire period of time during which he attempted to play the puck, and though he shifted his body as his stick touched the puck, it was “not a sudden movement just prior to contact that turns a legal hit into an illegal hit”. Burke said that “the movement made to play the puck may make him more vulnerable, but it does not excuse Reaves hitting through his back. In fact, Reaves has time to adjust his course and change his angle of approach prior to forcefully finishing this check through his opponent’s back.”

Reaves, who has played in 49 games this season, was in the midst of his most successful stretch during 2015-16 and had been providing great physicality during the Blues’ five-game winning streak, which was snapped on Monday night. After re-entering the lineup on February 9 following four straight games as a healthy scratch, Reaves amassed 29 hits (4.83 per game) over a six-game stretch from the 9th to the 20th.

While Reaves is out, it’s likely that Dmitrij Jaskin will fill the right wing position on the fourth line, which he did regularly from January 24-February 6, before he was replaced by Reaves and subsequently scratched from the lineup, demoted to the minors, and then recalled on Sunday as injuries struck. The 22-year-old Jaskin, who was thought to be on the verge of becoming an impact scorer after netting 13 goals in 54 games last season, has a disappointing three goals and seven assists through 49 games in 2015-16, but he’s provided solid physicality when pressed into fourth-line duty.

Next: Blues Place Elliott on IR, Recall Copley

If Ken Hitchcock wants to switch things up, he could also opt to place Jaskin or recently-recalled forward Ty Rattie on a line with David Backes and Patrik Berglund, then use Magnus Paajarvi and Scottie Upshall as his fourth-line wingers.

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