Maple Leafs centre Nazem Kadri has been suspended three games for boarding Boston Bruins forward Tommy Wingels in Game 1 of the teams’ Stanley Cup playoff series on Thursday.

Toronto’s Nazem Kadri suspended three games for boarding Boston’s Tommy Wingels. https://t.co/YKyNt1Kcu0 — NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) April 13, 2018

Kadri was assessed a five-minute charging major and game misconduct at the 8:18 mark of the third period for hitting Wingels while he was already down on the ice. Wingels did not return to the game, a 5-1 Boston victory.

This is the fourth suspension of Kadri’s nine-year career. He got four games for cross-checking Luke Glendening in 2016, four games for hitting Matt Fraser in the head in 2015, and three games for running goaltender Niklas Backstrom in 2013.

When asked about the hit on Wingels after Thursday’s game, Kadri said, “Initially, I felt like he made contact with Mitch [Marner]’s head and I didn’t see a call there. He was turned up the wall, so I was committed to the hit and he ended up falling. It happened quick and he was reaching for the puck. I don’t think I stuck my leg or arm out.”

As for whether he was concerned a suspension was coming, Kadri acknowledged that fate was out of his hands: “I certainly wasn’t trying to hit him when he was down like that. I was already committed to the hit. If he’s still standing up, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Kadri’s suspension puts his team in a tough position to replace him.

The Leafs were forced to go without Kadri for a brief spell already this season, when he missed two games (both losses) with an upper-body injury. At the time, Mike Babcock slotted Patrick Marleau into Kadri’s spot as the Leafs’ shutdown centre, flanked by Leo Komarov and Connor Brown. That was before Babcock changed his lines in mid-January to include Marner with the checking group, where he's had good success since.

Kadri didn’t participate in Friday's practice with the Leafs, and Babcock did move Marleau back to centre for the workout with Zach Hyman and Marner on his wings. Komarov slid up to Toronto's top line with Auston Matthews and William Nylander, by virtue of how “competitive” Babcock thought he was in Game 1. Andreas Johnsson replaced Komarov on the fourth line with Tomas Plekanec and Kasperi Kapanen, while also taking Kadri's spot on the Leafs' top power play unit.

It’s noteworthy that Babcock opted not to move Plekanec up the lineup, seeing as how the Leafs acquired him precisely to have centre depth come playoff time. It's likely a matter of trust for Babcock in shifting Marleau instead after Plekanec had an abysmal outing in Game 1 against Boston (11.76 per cent possession, minus-one rating, 40 per cent in the faceoff circle). The silver lining for Plekanec is that his best games with Toronto have been when Johnsson is on his wing.

Either way, the Leafs don’t have another 30-goal scoring centre capable of neutralizing one of an opponent’s top-two lines the way Kadri can.​ With the Bruins' top line of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak combining for six points in Game 1 with a sensational 79 per cent possession, the Leafs already have their hands full trying to contain Boston's best with Kadri available (although they don't have last change on the road).

Kadri's line was solid in Game 1 even without putting points on the board, and going without him will present a major challenge for the Leafs in their quest to return the series to Toronto knotted 1-1.