Chicago Blackhawks’ Niklas Hjalmarsson receives two-game suspension for hit on Jason Pominville
Defenceman Niklas Hjalmarsson of the Chicago Blackhawks has been given a two-game suspension by the National Hockey League for his hit from behind on Jason Pominville of the Buffalo Sabres.
Hjalmarsson’s hit on the Sabres’ right-winger occurred at 5:42 during the first period of the game played on Monday, October 11, between the two teams.
Pominville had been along the right boards in a battle for the puck, roughly 20 feet inside of the blue line. Hjalmarsson then skated in from behind Pominville, and hit him from behind,
causing his head to make contact with the glass. He then fell to the ice, and did not move for around 15 minutes after the hit.
Pominville received a concussion, and he was diagnosed on site by the Blackhawks’ medical staff. The hit also gave left him with a wound above his eye, which was later closed up by stitches.
He left the ice on a stretcher, but did not require hospitalisation.
“Everything happened so fast,” Hjalmarsson said of his hit on Pominville. “My intention wasn’t to hurt him. You never want to see someone laying on the ice like that.”
Hjalmarsson received a five-minute major boarding penalty for the hit, in addition to a game misconduct. The league later determined that Hjalmarsson’s hit was grounds for a suspension.
NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell spoke with the defenceman on Tuesday afternoon, and the announcement of the two-game suspension was made official soon afterwards.
Blackhawks head coach, Joel Quenneville, believed that Hjalmarsson was not in the wrong with the hit, as he was just trying to play the puck.
“To me, you could argue that it (wasn’t) even a penalty,” said Quenneville. “I don’t want to see anybody go down and get hurt like that, but (Hjalmarsson) wasn’t even looking at the guy,
he was playing the puck. There was no intent at all on the hit.”
Before the hit, Pominville had played in 335 consecutive games for Buffalo, and was one of the team’s most versatile players.
“Poms has been our iron man,” Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said. “You're just praying that everything’s okay.”
Hjalmarsson will return to action on Saturday, October 16, when the Blackhawks will face the Sabres again. Pominville will be out indefinitely as he recovers from his concussion.
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