Jeff Skinner of the Buffalo Sabres was suspended three games for a cross-check of Pittsburgh’s Jake Guentzel following a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety on Saturday.
Skinner and Guentzel were battling against the boards with 21.3 seconds left in the third period of their game on Friday when Skinner delivered a high crosscheck. Skinner was assessed a match penalty, and he and Guentzel both received a minor penalty for slashing in a game the Penguins won 4-3 in overtime.
Skinner, 30, is tied for second place in scoring for the Sabres with 32 points (13 goals, 19 assists) in 27 games.
Guentzel, a 28-year-old forward, has 27 points (13 goals, 14 assists) this season for the Penguins.
Jamie Oleksiak of the Seattle Kraken also is scheduled for a hearing on Saturday.
Oleksiak is facing discipline for an illegal check to the head of the Capitals’ Alexander Alexeyev during Friday night’s 4-1 Washington win. The incident occurred in the second period when Oleksiak elbowed Alexeyev shortly after the latter scored his first NHL point on an assist.
Alexeyev, a 23-year-old rookie, fell to the ice, was helped off by trainers and didn’t return to the game. Oleksiak was assessed a five-minute major and a match penalty and was ejected.
A 6-foot-7 defenseman, Oleksiak has seven points (four goals, three assists) in 22 games on the season.
–Field Level Media