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Brett Howden Suspended Two Games For Illegal Check To The Head

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Vegas Golden Knights winger Brett Howden was issued a two-game suspension today for an illegal check to the head of Seattle Kraken winger Brandon Tanev in last night’s game, per the NHL Department of Player Safety.

In the short term, expect a domino effect for the Golden Knights. With winger William Carrier also injured in their season-opening win, head coach Bruce Cassidy said earlier today that Pavel Dorofeyev will draw into the lineup tomorrow against the San Jose Sharks after serving as a healthy scratch last night. With Howden suspended, Cassidy also said the team will recall forward Jonas Røndbjerg from AHL Henderson.

Howden was assessed a match penalty by officials on the play. NHL DoPS ruled that Howden made the head the principal point of contact “on a hit where such head contact was avoidable.” The 25-year-old forward has no previous fines or suspensions on record with DoPS.

Howden skated 11:57 before being removed from the game, recording the primary assist on Chandler Stephenson’s game-opening goal. The 25-year-old signed a two-year, $3.8MM contract to remain a Golden Knight this summer after notching 10 points in 22 postseason games on the team’s run to the 2023 Stanley Cup.

Jamie Benn Suspended For Two Games

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The NHL Department of Player Safety has handed down a two-game suspension to Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn as a result of a cross-check to the neck of Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone early into last night’s Game 3 of the Western Conference Final.

As mentioned in our coverage earlier this morning of the news of Benn’s hearing, the initial play resulted in a major penalty and game misconduct for Benn.

In a video statement, NHL Player Safety described the play as Stone pursuing the puck through the neutral zone and appearing ready to engage with Benn. However, as Stone closed in, Benn made a decision that would ultimately lead to his suspension.

Benn chipped the puck up the wall, attempting to maneuver around Stone and gain the offensive zone. In the process, though, Stone was sent crashing to the ice. Seizing the opportunity, Benn then proceeded to deliver a forceful cross-check to Stone’s head and neck area.

Player Safety emphasized that Benn was in complete control of the play and deliberately chose to execute the dangerous cross-check on a prone player. Their decision to suspend Benn stems from their assessment of the incident as an unnecessarily dangerous act carried out with sufficient intent and force to warrant supplemental discipline.

It should be noted that Benn has a history of fines, having been fined four times over the course of his 1,030-game NHL career. This is his first offense to elevate to the level of suspension, however.

The suspension will see Jamie Benn sidelined for the Stars’ next two playoff or regular season games, meaning if the Stars are eliminated in tomorrow’s Game 4, Benn’s suspension will carry over to the first game of the 2023-24 season.

It’s a large loss for Dallas, who will need two straight wins to extend their season to the point where Benn can return. His 11 points in 16 games are tied for fourth on the team in scoring, and his 33 goals and 78 points in the regular season were his highest total since 2017-18.

Darnell Nurse Suspended For One Game

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The NHL Department of Player Safety announced they’ve upheld the automatic one-game suspension against Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse for instigating a fight in the last five minutes of regulation time, holding him out of a pivotal Game 5 against the Vegas Golden Knights. Head coach Jay Woodcroft was also fined $10,000 as a result of the incident in last night’s Game 4 win.

The automatic suspension holds Nurse, Edmonton’s leader in average time on ice among defensemen, out of Edmonton’s most important game this season to date, with their Second Round series locked in at two games apiece against Vegas.

The incident in question occurred with 50 seconds remaining in Edmonton’s 4-1 Game 4 win, with officials determining Nurse instigated a fight with Golden Knights defenseman Nicolas Hague. With play still going on, Nurse pinched in from the hash marks to fight Hague, who was stationed in a puck battle behind the Vegas net.

It means youngster Philip Broberg, who’s averaged under seven minutes of ice time per game throughout the playoffs, will draw back into the lineup with increased responsibility. The 21-year-old has yet to record a point this postseason but does lead Oiler defenders with a +3 rating. Mattias Ekholm, who’s been paired with youngster Evan Bouchard since joining the team at the trade deadline, could elevate to the top pairing alongside Cody Ceci.

Cale Makar Receives One-Game Suspension

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1:10 PM CT: The league has announced their decision, giving Makar a one-game suspension which will keep him out of the lineup for Game Five. If not one of the more interesting series already up to this point, Game Five will see the Kraken without one of their best forwards on the team, and also see the Avalanche without their best defenseman. As the series is now tied at two games apiece after the Kraken’s win last evening, Game Five will give one team control over the series.

8:04 AM CT: The Colorado Avalanche lost the game last night and now could be without the services of their best defenseman. Cale Makar will have a hearing today for his hit on Seattle Kraken forward Jared McCann, suggesting a potential suspension is coming down the pipe. McCann has already been ruled out for game five after suffering an injury on the play.

Makar was initially given a five-minute major for interference, but after an officials review, it was reduced to a two-minute penalty. The league apparently disagrees with that decision, if they are preparing to hand out some supplemental discipline for the Avalanche defenseman.

If they do lose him, Colorado will be in a vulnerable position. They are heading home, but the series is now tied after Jordan Eberle’s overtime dramatics. Removing Makar, who played 27 minutes in the loss, leading all skaters, will put a ton of pressure on the other Avalanche defenders. Already the team was basically operating a four-man rotation, with Erik Johnson and Josh Manson each playing fewer than 13 minutes in the overtime contest.

The league may be exercising some proactivity with this discipline, as the Kraken would likely have been trying to take some liberties with Makar had he faced nothing after the game. While he suggested there was no intent to injure McCann, the entire Kraken team has expressed their displeasure with the hit, and the decision to reduce it to a two-minute penalty.

Jordan Binnington Suspended Two Games By NHL

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St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington has been suspended for two games by the NHL Department of Player Safety for roughing/unsportsmanlike conduct against Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman.

In a video explaining the suspension, the incident is described as follows:

With Binnington in net, Hartman scores a power play goal to put the Wild up 5-4. On the way to celebrate the goal with his teammates, he makes light, incedental contact with Binnington, who was sliding out of his crease and towards Hartman. With the play long over, and as the Wild celebrate their goal, Binnington leaves the area of his crease, approaches the unsuspecting Hartman and his teammates, raises his blocker and stick to head level, and strikes Hartman in the face with the blocker.

The reason for the play resulting in suspension is the fact Binnington used his blocker in such a manner, the fact it was in retaliation following a goal, how hard he hit Hartman and the fact it was in the head, as well as the fact the incident occurred after Minnesota had taken the lead.

This is the first time Binnington has been suspended, and he has never been fined by the NHL.

Binnington, 29, has been shaky this season for the Blues, with a .892 save percentage and 3.39 GAA in 52 games played. The Blues have entered a new era, having traded longtime franchise pillar Vladimir Tarasenko and captain and 2019 Conn Smythe Trophy winner Ryan O’Reilly.

The Blues sit in sixth place in the Central Division, only ahead of the lowly Arizona Coyotes and Chicago Blackhawks.

Snapshots: Meier, Johnson, WHL Suspensions

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While the major news of the day from a trade deadline perspective revolves around Jakob Chychrun, San Jose Sharks forward Timo Meier remains the top forward option on the market for many teams. We covered how teams would be potentially interested in Meier even as a rental forward, despite the fact that he has one year remaining of eligibility for restricted free agency — albeit with a pricey $10MM qualifying offer attached.

Today, The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reported that the Sharks have not yet given permission to Meier and his agent, former NHLer Claude Lemieux, to negotiate the terms of a potential contract extension with interested teams. LeBrun did note, though, that “the expectation is that will happen closer to trade offers being firmed up.” But the fact that these talks have not yet occurred could be an indication that the Meier trade process isn’t quite as far along as the Chychrun saga seems to be, especially given today’s news of Chychrun being healthy scratched.

Some other notes from across the hockey world:

  • The Colorado Avalanche announced that veteran blueliner Erik Johnson would not return to tonight’s game due to a lower-body injury. Dater on Hockey’s Adrian Dater added that the “worry is it might be broken foot,” but no further information beyond that has been released. A broken foot would obviously be a massive blow for the Avalanche as they look to climb the standings down the stretch, so all involved will likely be hoping that what knocked Johnson out of the game ends up being only a minor obstacle.
  • The WHL announced that four Moose Jaw Warriors players have been indefinitely suspended pending an investigation into possible violations of team rules and the WHL’s Standard of Conduct policies. No further details beyond that were given in the league’s announcement. Of note is that one of the suspended players, Maximus Wanner, is an Edmonton Oilers 2021 seventh-round pick who signed his entry-level deal with the team in September.

Snapshots: Wilson, Sergachev, Holm

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Despite a strong 7-2-1 run in their last ten, the Washington Capitals remain in sixth place in the tough Metro, four points out of a divisional playoff spot. As they chase down the teams ahead of them, though some reinforcements are coming. Tom Wilson donned a regular jersey at practice today and skated on a line with Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin, though the return for the first two is still a little way down the road. Wilson and Backstrom will not travel with the team to Ottawa according to Samantha Pell of the Washington Post, though Nic Dowd, Alex Alexeyev, and Darcy Kuemper will.

Wilson, 28, is one of the most unique players in the league, able to contribute at a high level offensively while still acting like a pseudo-enforcer on the ice. Racking up at least 93 penalty minutes in each of his nine NHL seasons, he had 24 goals and 52 points in 78 games last season. Since the Capitals never put him on long-term injured reserve, they can activate him without worrying about cap implications. Backstrom, whose $9.2MM cap hit has sat on LTIR all year, is a different story; the team will need to clear quite a bit to get him back on the roster.

  • Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev’s bank account took a little hit today, as he was fined $5,000 for slashing Toronto Maple Leafs forward Michael Bunting last night. That is the maximum allowable fine under the current CBA. While it doesn’t seem like much, the incident will be considered in any future supplementary discipline decisions, and could lead to increased punishment down the line. For Tampa Bay, they at least are escaping Toronto with no suspensions, after being pummeled by the Maple Leafs in a performance head coach Jon Cooper called “a complete bag of you know what.”
  • As expected, Arvid Holm has been returned to the minor leagues by the Winnipeg Jets, meaning Connor Hellebuyck has recovered enough from his illness to return to action. In his absence, David Rittich stopped 35 of 36 shots in a win over the Ottawa Senators, raising his save percentage to .909 on the year – his highest since 2018-19.

Jeff Skinner Suspended For Three Games

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With Buffalo and Pittsburgh playing the back end of a back-to-back set tonight, the Department of Player Safety had to make a quick decision on what supplemental discipline Sabres winger Jeff Skinner would receive.  That decision has now been made as the league announced (Twitter link) that the veteran has been suspended for three games.

The incident occurred late in Friday’s contest.  Skinner took exception to Jake Guentzel making contact with Craig Anderson after the netminder froze the puck, delivering two cross-checks.  The first hit the shoulder with the second getting Guentzel’s face; that’s the one that draws the suspension; in the video, it was noted that Skinner “aggressively and purposefully struck Guentzel… with sufficient force to merit supplemental discipline”.  He received a major and a match penalty on the play for cross-checking.

Skinner will miss tonight’s rematch against the Penguins as well as Tuesday’s game against Los Angeles and Thursday’s contest in Colorado.  He’ll be eligible to return on Saturday in Arizona.  It’s the second suspension of his career with the first incident occurring more than a decade ago and didn’t play a factor in this three-game ban.  He forfeits nearly $146K in salary which goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

Pierre Engvall Suspended One Game

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5:50 PM: The NHL Department of Player Safety has announced that Engvall will serve a one-game suspension for his high stick on Durzi.

10:13 AM: Match penalties given for intent to injure come with an automatic review from the league, meaning the NHL has some work to do following the Toronto Maple Leafs-Los Angeles Kings game last night. Pierre Engvall will have a hearing with the Department of Player Safety for his high stick on Sean Durzi, which earned him a five-minute major and an early trip to the showers.

The two players were engaged all over the rink, before meeting again at center ice. After they both raised their sticks to battle, Engvall ended up swinging his down and hitting Durzi in the back of the head and neck. The Kings defenseman did not suffer a major injury, but Engvall may end up missing more than just the remainder of that game.

Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe afterward said that he didn’t think Engvall meant to make such heavy contact, explaining that “you’ve all watched Pierre play for long enough to know he doesn’t play with an intent to injure.” The 6’5″ forward had just six penalty minutes in 27 games before last night, four of which came against the Dallas Stars earlier this week for another high stick, this time on Jason Robertson.

Given the lack of injury and clean record of the 26-year-old, it seems unlikely for him to get a lengthy suspension. But the Maple Leafs should prepare for life without him for tomorrow’s game against the Calgary Flames. With Nick Robertson suffering a shoulder injury, the Maple Leafs could be down two players from last night’s lineup.

Juraj Slafkovsky Suspended Two Games

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The Montreal Canadiens will be without the first-overall pick for the next few days as Juraj Slafkovsky has been given a two-game suspension by the Department of Player Safety for his hit on Matt Luff. As the accompanying video explains:

It is important to note that while Luff does turn to face the wall, he does not do so just prior to or simultaneous with contact in a way that turns a legal check into an illegal one. From the time he crosses the blue line, Slafkovsky is looking at Luff’s numbers. The onus is on Slavkovsky to deliver this check in a legal fashion, minimize the force of the contact, or avoid the hit entirely. 

As expected, the league took into account Luff’s subsequent injury – wrist surgery that will keep him out 10-12 weeks – in determining the punishment. This will be the first supplementary discipline of Slafkovsky’s young career but will now be taken into consideration whenever there is another borderline incident.

It is also the second Montreal Canadiens forward that has been suspended for boarding in just a few days, after Josh Anderson also received a two-game ban for his hit on Alex Pietrangelo. They occurred at nearly identical spots on the ice (though in different rinks), and resulted in the same discipline.

Slafkovsky will miss games against the Vancouver Canucks and Pittsburgh Penguins.

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