Leafs coach - No issue trusting Michael Bunting after suspension

TORONTO — The Maple Leafs expected Michael Bunting would be suspended. Their focus now is moving on without him.

Toronto's top-six winger was handed a three-game suspension Wednesday for an illegal check to the head and interference against Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak in Game 1 of the teams' first-round NHL playoff series Tuesday.

Bunting's actions leave the Leafs short-handed for a significant portion of the remaining matchup. But coach Sheldon Keefe stood behind his player ahead of Thursday's Game 2, when Toronto will try to even its series with the Lightning after a disastrous 7-3 loss in Game 1.

«I know Michael Bunting as well as anyone, so I don't have an issue in terms of trusting him when he [comes back],» Keefe said. «He's had no history of such things. I knew he was going to get something and that's what the league decided. We'll press on.»

Keefe later said that Bunting wasn't malicious in targeting Cernak when his elbow collided with Cernak's head late in the second period. Bunting earned a match penalty for the incident, and Cernak left the game and did not return.

Cernak has been ruled out for Game 2.

«The Bunting play is well-intentioned in the sense that he's trying to engage to win the line,» Keefe said. «He's expecting a physical confrontation with a defender that's as physical as anybody in the league. And he's probably a little bit early on the engagement and you know what the result is. It's such a fine line.»

As a result, both Tampa and Toronto have lost key pieces from their lineup.

«You can't add to it or take it back,» said Lightning coach Jon Cooper. «It was unfortunate. It's unfortunate for [Bunting] too, just for everyone all the way around.»

Tampa defender Mikhail Sergachev