The culprit, Samuel Blais of the St. Louis Blues, was ejected from the game for his hit, and the Canadiens gained a five-minute power play. The CH defenseman did not return to the game, which would have been surprising.
What's surprising in the decision of the on-site officials is that Blais did not seem to have made this gesture intentionally. It was really Harris who lost his balance, and Blais was coming to finish his check. Unfortunate outcome.
The league now has a decision to make, whether to penalize Blais or not. Usually, the meeting between the Department of Player Safety and the player in question takes place within 24 hours. In this case, there has been no communication between the two parties.
This means that the chances are excellent for Blais to receive absolutely nothing. Despite the unfortunate situation for Harris, I agree with this decision. It was not a malicious act, just pure bad luck.
Sometimes a player may be contacted two days after a reprehensible act, but that would be very surprising here. The Blues play tomorrow night, so the decision would have been made in advance, without a doubt.
