Jeff Skinner of the Buffalo Sabres and Jamie Oleksiak of the Seattle Kraken were each suspended three games on Saturday following their respective hearings with the NHL Department of Player Safety on Saturday.
Skinner was suspended for a cross-check of Pittsburgh’s Jake Guentzel on Friday, while Oleksiak was suspended for delivering an illegal check to the head of Washington Capitals defender Alexander Alexeyev on Friday
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, a forward, 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.
Oleksiak, a defenseman, was disciplined for an illegal check to the head of 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.
NHL Player Safety said Oleksiak’s hit was forceful and made direct contact with Alexeyev’s head.
Alexeyev, a 23-year-old rookie, fell to the ice, was helped off by trainers and didn’t return to the game. Oleksiak, 29, 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
