On Friday afternoon, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced that Nikita Nesterov has been suspended two games for his check from behind on Dallas Stars‘ forward Curtis McKenzie. The hit occurred near the end of the second period (at 15:56, to be exact). Nesterov received a five-minute major and a game misconduct, while McKenzie was assisted in leaving the ice.
The Stars have confirmed that McKenzie has been placed on the injured reserve list with a lower body injury, with no timeline for his return. He was hospitalized in Tampa and Stars’ General Manager Jim Nill told the Dallas Morning News that McKenzie was scheduled to return to Dallas sometime Friday. The Dallas Morning News also reported that he was on crutches.
In light of Nesterov’s suspension and the injury to Victor Hedman (which also occurred during the Stars game), the Lightning have recalled Slater Koekkoek from the Syracuse Crunch. Koekkoek has played three regular season games for the Lightning in his professional career.
