The Sabres' Jack Eichel was suspended two games as a result of his illegal check to the head of the Avalanche's Carl Soderberg, the NHL's Department of Player Safety announced Sunday.
The league explained its decision in a video released Sunday.
"With Soderberg reaching for the puck, Eichel cut sharply in front of him with his upper body hitting Soderberg's head and making it the main point of contact on a hit where such head contact was avoidable," the video said.
Eichel was assessed a minor penalty for illegal check to the head on the play. Soderberg finished the game for the Avalanche.
This was Eichel's first disciplinary hearing of his career. He will miss the Sabres' games against the Stars on Tuesday, and against the Penguins on Thursday. He'll be eligible to return Saturday in Carolina.
Eichel, 22, leads the Sabres in points with 25 goals and 47 assists in 65 games this season.
In Eichel's absence, the Sabres have recalled forward Alex Nylander from their AHL affiliate in Rochester. Nylander, 21, has appeared in seven games with the Sabres over the last two seasons. He has 12 goals and 19 assists in 49 AHL games this season.
TAYLOR'S VIEW
No surprises on this decision. Connor McDavid received a two-game suspension for a comparable hit last month.
Although, given the inconsistency of Player Safety, I should say that I have no issues with the decision, not that I'm not surprised. When you have Wayne Simmonds getting off with nothing for concussing Brian Dumoulin, or Evgeni Malkin just getting one game for recklessly swinging his stick at the head of Michael Raffl, you never know what to expect.
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