It’s just not the playoffs without the Department of Player Safety getting involved. Kyle Clifford made sure they had a chance to get involved in the Leafs series early.

Here is the hit in question…

As mentioned in the Sportsnet tweet, Kyle Clifford had the in-game book thrown at him already with being assessed a five minute major and a game misconduct. The lack of Clifford didn’t really slow the Leafs down, and killing off his five minute penalty seemed to be the spark that energized the Leafs as well. That said, it was a pretty dirty hit and the fact that he’s got a call today isn’t really surprising.

The Department of Player Safety will likely consider some of the time served given that it was a game misconduct in the first period. The DoPS also tends to be slightly more lenient in the playoffs, and Colton was able to stay in the game, so who knows what he’ll get. With the Leafs it never seems to just be a fine.

Clifford missing a game opens the door for Jason Spezza to come back into the lineup, something that many Leafs fans wanted in the first place. With the potential for some escalation in the hitting clean or otherwise, the Leafs might end up missing Clifford though. Although it’s not like they had him for much of Game 1 either.

Additionally, Wayne Simmonds picked up a fine for his part in the scrum with the Lightning…

If the Simmonds fine (along with the Maroon and Perry fines) have already been announced, it seems that we are likely looking at a suspension for Clifford.

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