New York Rangers defenseman John Moore will miss the remainder of the team's contentious Eastern Conference finals series with the Montreal Canadiens for committing an illegal check in Tuesday's Game 5.
Moore was suspended two games for his hit to the head of Canadiens forward Dale Weise midway through the third period of Montreal's eventual 7-4 victory, which forced a Game 6 that will be held at New York's Madison Square Garden on Thursday.
The NHL's decision comes after Canadiens forward Brandon Prust just completed serving a two-game ban for a similar hit on the Rangers' Derek Stepan in Game 3 of the series.
Moore received a 10-minute match penalty for the incident, however, while Prust was not penalized for his shot on Stepan.
Stepan suffered a broken jaw from Prust's hit and sat out New York's overtime win in Game 4, but returned to action on Tuesday and recorded two goals in the loss.
Moore will be the second Ranger player suspended for the remainder of the series, with forward Daniel Carcillo drawing a 10-game penalty for making contact with linesman Scott Driscoll following a fight with Prust in Game 3.
The Canadiens cut New York's lead in the series to 3-2 with Tuesday's result.
[SportsNetwork.com]
