BOSTON -- Bruins defenseman Matt Bartkowski was given a game misconduct for his late hit on Buffalo Sabres captain Brian Gionta at 14:08 of the first period Sunday night at TD Garden.
Buffalo was attempting to break out of its zone when Gionta failed to receive a pass just inside the blue line. The puck was past Gionta when Bartkowski stepped up and made shoulder contact to Gionta's head, flipping the Sabres forward to the ice.
Teammate Marcus Foligno quickly jumped in and dropped the gloves with Bartkowski, while Gionta lay on the ice, bleeding from his head. A trainer tended to Gionta before he skated off the ice on his own. Gionta did not return.
After the game, Sabres coach Ted Nolan said Gionta was still a little shaken up.
"We don't know if he's going to be in [Monday] or not," Nolan said, "so we'll cross our fingers, hoping he's good."
Bartkowski also was given a five-minute major penalty for interference and five minutes for fighting.
"The head hits are dangerous hits, so we'll let the league look at that and make the correct call," Nolan said.
Bruins coach Claude Julien was more concerned with yet another would-be goal for his team being disallowed than talking about Bartkowski's hit on Gionta. The Bruins had a goal waved off in the first period, something that has become a regular occurrence.
"I can't even figure out why goals don't count, so I'm certainly not going to comment on that. I have no idea," Julien said.
