CHICAGO -- Chicago Blackhawks forward Brandon Bollig will have a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety on Saturday for his hit on Minnesota Wild defenseman Keith Ballard in Game 4 of their second-round series.
Bollig was called for a boarding penalty after he hit Ballard into the boards late in the second period Friday. Ballard fell to the ice and laid face-first for a few seconds. He skated off the ice under his own power, went to the dressing room and did not return for the remainder of the game.
Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville would not share his opinion of the hit Saturday.
“I’m not going to comment on it,” Quenneville said. “Let the league do what they have to do on that one.”
Ballard will not travel with the Wild to Chicago for Game 5 on Sunday due to an upper-body injury, Wild coach Mike Yeo said Saturday.
Ballard has zero points, a minus-2 rating and averaged 9:18 of ice time in two playoff games this season.
Bollig had zero points, a minus-3 rating and averaged 6:09 of ice time in nine playoff games this season.
