Bobby Bevilacqua

Rangers’ defenseman will be suspended for the next 5 games as a result of his hit to the head on Minnesota WIld forward Eric Haula.

Following John Moore’s match penalty on Monday against the Minnesota Wild, Moore has been handed a 5 game suspension by the NHL department of player safety.

Moore delivered an illegal blow to the head of Wild forward Eric Haula, which did cause an injury. It is important to know that the hit was not late and was not with the elbow, but Moore was unable to hit him square through the body.

Initial contact was made with the shoulder, but the main point of contact was with the head, which is the reason for the suspension, as well as the hit leading to an injury.

Moore is considered a repeat offender under the CBA following his 2 game suspension in last season’s playoffs, which came as a result of a similar hit on Dale Weise.

This suspension is not good news for the Rangers. Moore is a big part of the power play unit and a solid defensive player. Last season, the Rangers had Raphael Diaz available as a backup. But with Diaz in Calgary now, and the Rangers already short on defensemen due to injury and now a suspension, filling in his position is not an easy task.

As of now, the candidate likely to replace Moore is Michael Kostka. Kostka struggled in his one game against the Islanders, making two costly turnovers that led to goals. But there is nobody in the Rangers farm system who is NHL ready yet, so management doesn’t really have much of a choice.

The next game Moore will be eligible to play in is on November 11 against the Penguins. It will be interesting to see how Vigneault changes up the defensive pairings and if the Rangers will take a chance on someone like Dylan McIlrath or Connor Allen during the next 5 games.