Bruins winger Brad Marchand will have a phone hearing Wednesday with NHL Player Safety, jeopardizing his participation in the Winter Classic.
The hearing will take place at 4:30 p.m., a source said.
Having a hearing doesn't automatically mean a suspension, but the league wants to talk to Marchand after his low-bridge hit on Ottawa's Mark Borowiecki in Tuesday night's 7-3 Bruins win. There was no penalty on the play.
"It was a simple play," Marchand said of the hit. "I was trying to get to the puck carrier [Erik Karlsson] and I turned up ice and he was kind of standing there; I just turned up and tried to get to the puck carrier."
The Senators disagreed.
"I saw it and I think it's intentional," Karlsson said. "I didn't really see exactly what happened. I haven't seen any replay or anything, but at the same time, he knows that it's Boro, and Boro had a big hit last game and it is what it is right now ... if it's something worth calling after, then I think the league will do the right thing."
Added Senators center Kyle Turris: "From our perspective it looked like he kind of got submarined, his legs taken out from under him by, I mean, playing against Marchand, he's done it before and [we] come to expect stuff like that."
The Bruins face the Canadiens at 1 p.m. ET on Friday at Gillette Stadium.
Marchand was suspended five games in January 2012 for a low-bridge hit on Vancouver's Sami Salo.