Carcillo's Suspension Sliced To 6 Games, Can Return For Game 4 Of Finals

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The NHL cut Dan Carcillo a break on Tuesday.

The Rangers' rugged forward was given a game misconduct during the early stages of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals against Montreal for making contact with linesman Scott Driscoll. Carcillo was later suspended 10 games by the league for physical abuse of an official.

Carcillo appealed and the league decided Tuesday that his actions were more line with trying to escape an official's grasp than physical abuse. At the time of the altercation with Driscoll, Carcillo was attempting to go after the Canadiens' Brandon Prust, who had leveled Rangers forward Derek Stepan with a high hit, a move that cost Prust a two-game suspension.

According to the NHL: "... the Commissioner ruled that Carcillo's actions were more appropriately deemed a violation of Rule 40.4 for deliberately applying 'physical force to an official for the sole purpose of getting free of such official during or immediately following an altercation.' The Commissioner determined that as appropriately re-classified under Rule 40.4, and under the totality of the circumstances, a suspension of six (6) games was the proper penalty."

The decision is good news for the Rangers, who open the Stanley Cup finals on Wednesday in Los Angeles. Since Carcillo has already serves three games of his original ban, he is guaranteed to be available for Game 4 on June 11 at Madison Square Garden.

Carcillo has two goals, 22 penalty minutes and is a plus-1 in eight games this postseason.

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