Niklas Kronwall was suspended for his hit on Nikita Kucherov. (USATSI)
Niklas Kronwall was suspended for his hit on Nikita Kucherov. (USATSI)

When the Detroit Red Wings face the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 of their first round playoff series on Wednesday night they will have to do so without their best defenseman.

The NHL announced on Tuesday evening that Niklas Kronwall has been suspended for one game for charging Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov in the second period of Tampa Bay's 5-2 win on Monday night.

Kronwall was not penalized for the hit during the game and while Kucherov was briefly shaken up, he ended up returning to the game.

From the NHL's video explanation of the play:

Many charging penalties are adequately punished by a minor or major penalty. What causes this infraction to rise to the level of supplemental discipline is the force with which the hit was delivered, and the significant head contact that resulted from Kronwall launching into it. 

Kucherov is eligible to hit on this play, being bent over in a standard puck carrying posture does not make him exempt from taking a legal hit, which might include some unavoidable head contact. However, rather than staying low and delivering a full body check through Kucherov's core, Kronwall elevates unacceptably, with his skates offs the ice prior to contact.

It is important to note this hit differs from countless other hits delivered by Kronwall at this same location on the ice and under similar circumstances. 

Here is the entire explanation of the play, as well as another look at the hit. The league also provided examples of previous Kronwall hits that were considered legal and why they differ from this particular hit. 

This is the first time Kronwall has suspended in his NHL career.