Leafs defenseman shoved into the boards from behind, slow to get up; suspension-worthy?

Well that is exactly what could have happened to Leafs rookie defensemen Timothy Liljegren. Late in the second period, Liljegren was looking to pick up the puck behind his own net when Boston Bruins forward Tomas Nosek cross checked him from behind, sending him crashing head first into the end boards.

Liljegren laid on the ice for a few seconds, before getting up and skating to the bench on his own. Morgan Rielly could be heard yelling right after the hit, and decided to take matters into his own hands by going after Nosek.

Rielly received two minutes for roughing and Nosek received two minutes for cross-checking on the play. Even though both players went to the ice fairly quickly in the engagement, the crowd at Scotiabank Arena seemed to really appreciate Morgan Rielly standing up for a teammate and gave him a standing ovation while he was escorted to the penalty box.

It is likely the Players Safety department takes a look at this. This does feel like an out of character move for Tomas Nosek, who only has 96 career penalty minutes in 331 games played. But this was a really bad hit, and Nosek is likely facing a suspension here.

Liljegren did return for the third period, so it appears as though a crisis has been averted for the Leafs.