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The NHL has handed down a one game suspension to Anaheim Thugs forward Jarkko Ruutu, for his late hit on Martin Erat, which knocked Erat out of the game and will keep him out of tomorrow's Game 5 with an upper body injury, as reported by Bryan Mullen of The Tennessean. This is Ruutu's 3rd NHL suspension, with the other two coming within a two-month stretch during the 2008-9 season when he played for Ottawa.
Ruutu is an afterthought from a competitive standpoint, a bit player who has now done his work and can slink back into the shadows until Randy Carlyle calls upon him once again. The bottom line here is that Bobby Ryan returns to action for Anaheim tomorrow night, and the Preds will need to respond with their best effort of the series so far... without their top two-way winger in the lineup.