Against the Penguins in the Patrick Division Final, Hextall's performances were mixed: he under-performed early in the series, and in game five was swapped out of the net and then reinstated twice during a 10–7 defeat for the Flyers. Hextall faced 17 shots in the game, conceding nine of the Penguins goals. After the game, he denied being out of control, despite having assaulted one of the officials and chasing Rob Brown around the ice. He said, "I like to think I'm strong mentally. Hey, if I was as out of control as people say I am, I wouldn't be in the National Hockey League." The Penguins coach, Gene Ubriaco, agreed with Hextall's assessment, and believed the goaltender lost control intentionally: "He uses a loss of control to his advantage, in a way. He's the extreme example of controlled violence. And they Flyers live and die with it." The Flyers won the next game to force a decider, but Hextall was ruled out of the contest with a first degree sprain of the medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his right knee. Hextall's injury kept him out of the first three games of the series against the Canadiens, during which the Canadiens took a 2–1 lead. He returned for the fourth game, but could not prevent his side losing 3–0. The Flyers won the following game to extend the series to six games, but lost the next game 4–2, and were eliminated. Hextall displayed his violent side during the final minutes of game six, skating out of his crease to attack Chris Chelios. Hextall claimed that the attack was in retaliation for Chelios' hit on his Flyer teammate Brian Propp in game one, when Chelios caught Flyer Propp with a "flying elbow" to the side of the head, rendering him unconscious. Hextall was given a 12-game suspension for his actions, at the beginning of the 1989–90 season. Following the announcement of the suspension, Hextall stated his disappointment, and added that his intention was to fight rather than hurt Chelios.