Tkachuk banned 1 game for spearing; Babcock calls incident ‘junior hockey stuff’
TORONTO — Matthew Tkachuk’s teammates on the Calgary Flames would like him to cut out the needless suspensions, but don’t want any change in his gritty, high-skilled game.
Tkachuk was suspended one game by the NHL for a spearing incident in Wednesday’s game against Toronto. It was the 19-year-old’s second one-game suspension this season.
“He has to play on the edge,” Flames captain Mark Giordano said before Tuesday night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens. “He’s a great player.
“He plays on the line. I don’t think any of his hits and stuff on the ice are questionable. Maybe its on us older guys to help him a bit with some of the borderline stuff from the bench. But there wasn’t much there, to be honest.”