According to the NHL Department of Player Safety, Dalton Prout of the Columbus Blue Jackets has been suspended one game for sucker punching Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov during an altercation on Sunday afternoon.
Prout received a 10-minute misconduct for the punch, as well as a two-minute minor for roughing. Kucherov also received a roughing minor for his role in the scrum, which occurred behind the Lightning goal in the second period of Sunday’s contest. However, as you’ll hear in the Department of Player Safety’s explanation, the fact that Kucherov was not engaged with Prout was a major factor in the decision to suspend the Blue Jackets’ blue-liner.
The Department of Player Safety’s official video is below.
As the video states, this will be Prout’s first suspension in his NHL career, which plays a major role in deciding the length of suspension for any individual in this situation. The suspension means Prout will be unavailable when the Blue Jackets play the Detroit Red Wings at home on Thursday night.
Prout has two goals and 5 total points through 52 games this season. He also has 83 penalty minutes.
Featured Image Courtesy of Amy Irvin
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