Brandon Prust suspended 2 games for hit on Derek Stepan

NEW YORK - The NHL suspended Montreal Canadiens forward Brandon Prust two games for "interference" on a play that resulted in New York Rangers center Derek Stepan suffering a broken jaw.

Prust caught Stepan coming out of his zone at 2:45 of the first period and delivered a high hit that put Stepan on the ice for several moments. He was able to finish the game, but subsequent examinations revealed his injury. He had surgery on Friday.

As of Friday, the Rangers weren't sure how long Stepan would be out.

Before the suspension was announced, Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said of the Prust hit: "Four referees missed the call. Stepan is injured. The same player that called the hit on (Carey) Price 'accidental but on purpose.' Late hit, everything that you want to get out of the game, that was his hit on Stepan.

"And what saddens me about that hit is, if the call is made on the ice, we're on a five-minute power play, and what happened to Dan Carcillo, and what Dan did is inexcusable, and he's going to pay a big price for it, but if the call is made on the ice, he's not put in that position."

Carcillo was given a 10-game suspension for physical contact with an official during an altercation that resulted from the Rangers trying to go after Prust for his unpenalized hit on Stepan.

The NHL's explanation video stated that Stepan was hit "well past the time he is eligible to be check." Although Prust wasn't penalized on the play, the NHL said "extreme lateness" of the hit and the "violent" head contact dictated the suspension.

Prust is a former Rangers player who was very popular when he played in New York. He wasn't happy that Price was taken out of the series by an injury suffered when Rangers forward Chris Kreider slid into him. He said the Kreider collision was "accidental on purpose."

Prust played for the Rangers for two-plus seasons until he signed a four-year contract with the Canadiens in the summer of 2012.

Prust received a one-game suspension in the 2012 Eastern Conference Final for elbowing New Jersey Devils defenseman Anton Volchenkov.

Earlier in the day, Montreal's Lars Eller was asked when the series' intensity had picked up.

"Every game," he said.

"I think as games progress in the series, the competitive nature of players and coaches come out," Vigneault said. "Obviously, every game has their moments. Every game has their incidences where sometimes blood can boil from one side to the other."

Presuming Stepan will be be out, the Rangers will be without two key forwards because Derick Brassard is out day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.