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Hit by Beleskey leaves Stepan out 'indefinitely' with broken ribs (Video)

Hit by Beleskey leaves Stepan out 'indefinitely' with broken ribs (Video)

Following the New York Rangers 4-3 loss to the Boston Bruins, head coach Alain Vigneault had bad news for the Blueshirt faithful:

Stepan broke his ribs after Matt Beleskey checked the Rangers forward into the boards. For his indiscretion, Beleskey was immediately confronted and threw down with Dylan McIllrath. Aside from the fighting major, Beleskey did not receive a penalty on the play.

Joe Haggerty of CSNNE.com tweeted the Department of Player Safety was looking into the hit; however, it was later determined to not warrant discipline:

What could have warranted supplemental discipline was the lateness of the hit. Players have five-tenths of a second to hit the opposing player after he releases the puck but that's just a general guideline. Beleskey's hit comes about two seconds after Stepan passes the puck. However, there is plenty of gray in the rule.

Stepan leaves the Rangers as sixth on the team in scoring with 12 points. New York dropped their last two games and they face off against Philadephia on Saturday and Carolina on Monday.

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Jen Neale is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @MsJenNeale_PD.

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