Washington Capitals forward Marcus Johansson has been suspended two games by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety in a ruling that came down on Friday evening.
The suspension comes for an illegal check to the head of New York Islanders defenseman Thomas Hickey in a January 7 game at Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn.
The Department of Player Safety outlines that on the play, Johansson extends upward through Hickey’s head on the hit when contact with the head was easily avoidable.
Helping him keep the suspension to a minimum was a lack of suspensions on Johansson’s record. In fact, Johansson is a far cry from a goon. He’s only racked up 42 penalty minutes in his career. That’s 42 minutes over 384 games in six seasons.
Hickey was not injured on the play and remained in the game.
Watch the league’s suspension video below:
Johansson has put up 10 goals and 26 points through 39 games this season, on pace for a career year in both categories.
Hickey on Johansson: "He's not a dirty player, but maybe it was a dirty hit. Like I said, I don't think he's got bad intentions."
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) January 8, 2016