Mikhail Sergachev of Lightning was stretchered off due to a leg injury.
NEW YORK Brenden Dillon, a defenseman for the Winnipeg Jets, received a three-game suspension for illegally checking Pittsburgh Penguins forward Noel Acciari in the head.
Following a disciplinary hearing, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety declared the suspension.
Within four minutes of the start of the second half of Tuesday’s game in Pittsburgh, Dillon struck Acciari in the head with his left shoulder. Acciari left the game due to an injury and did not come back, while Dillon received a match penalty and was sent off.
Following his team’s 3-0 victory, coach Mike Sullivan stated of Acciari, “He’s doing OK but being evaluated right now.” “Noel’s health is our top priority.”
Dillon will miss future games against Pittsburgh and San Jose at home as well as games in Philadelphia, forfeiting $60,938 in pay. After serving a one-game suspension for slashing in 2017 while playing for the Sharks, this is his second career suspension.
The league clarified the duration of the ban and stated that head contact was preventable in a video. The 5-foot-10 Acciari was bent forward, but the league found that he did not shift his head position in the seconds before Dillon, who is 6-foot-4, hit him.
The league claimed that Dillon opted for an approach angle that “cuts across the front of Acciari’s body, missing his core and picking his head.” “Dillon needs to hit through Acciari’s shoulder and core with this hit, not at an angle that makes the head the primary point of contact.”
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Following surgery on his right shoulder, rookie center Matthew Poitras of the Boston Bruins will miss the remainder of the regular season, the team announced on Wednesday.
After undergoing an open stabilization procedure, the 19-year-old, who finished with five goals and fifteen points in 33 games, is expected to recover in around five months, which should have him ready for training camp.
“Matt has played a significant role in our team’s achievements so far, and we will miss him,” general manager of the Boston Bruins Don Sweeney said in a statement. “Matt should have the surgery rather than play with an unstable shoulder and risk more damage, according to our medical staff’s recommendation. Everyone agreed that it was the right thing for him to do at this particular moment. Matt is a crucial component of our future and is just beginning his Bruins career.”
Ever since he returned from competing for Canada at the IIHF U-20 World Junior Championships in late December and early January, there had been concerns about Poitras’ health. After winning gold in three of the previous four tournaments, Canada did not medal at the WJC for the first time since 2019 when Poitras finished with two goals and four points in five games.
In three of the twelve games the Bruins played in January, he saw less than nine minutes of ice time. He participated in six of those games. In those six games, he registered just two points, both of which came from two assists in the Bruins’ 7-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on January 16.
Poitras, a second-round selection in 2022, joined the Bruins roster right out of training camp and made an instant impression. He contributed to the team’s victory in six straight games and 14-1-1 start.
In the first two months of the season, Poitras had 11 points and five goals. As a result, he averaged more than 14 minutes per game and was occasionally used in a top-six role for a team that had concerns heading into the season about how it would replace the retirements of David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron.
The Bruins (31-10-9) will still depend on Charlie Coyle, Morgan Geekie, and Pavel Zacha to lead their top three lines in the wake of Poitras’ departure. The team had the most points in the NHL going into Wednesday, sitting atop the Atlantic Division and two points behind the Vancouver Canucks.
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Chicago Following a right foot injury that kept him out of the lineup, Chicago Blackhawks forward Tyler Johnson is back in the starting lineup for their game against Minnesota on Wednesday night.
Defenseman Louis Crevier was recalled from Rockford, Illinois, and Johnson was activated from injured reserve. Coach Luke Richardson now has some insurance on the blue line with Crevier, as the team enters a busy stretch following the All-Star break.
In his third season with , Johnson, 33, who won two Stanley Cups with Tampa Bay, has nine goals and four assists in 35 games. He might draw some interest from other teams before the NHL trade deadline on March 8th, given that the Blackhawks are in last place in the Central Division.
On December 31, Johnson was injured during an 8-1 loss in Dallas.
Johnson said on Tuesday, “It was actually kind of a weird thing.” “My toe went into the boards and broke a few bones there after I actually hit a guy.”
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