Blackhawks' Brandon Bollig suspended 2 games for boarding Keith Ballard (Video)

Late in the second period of Game 4 between the Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild, Keith Ballard was forced to leave the game after being boarded by Brandon Bollig.

The Blackhawks forward could have easily minimized the force of the hit or chose to tie up Ballard along the boards. Bollig decided to drive straight through the numbers, boarding Ballard and injuring him in the process. For that, the NHL has suspended him for Games 5 and 6 of their second round series.

Here's Patrick Burke with the explanation:

Ballard, who missed the previous two months of play with a groin injury before returning for Game 2, didn't fly with the team to Chicago for Game 5 Sunday. Wild head coach Mike Yeo called it simply an upper-body injury situation.