Brandon Dubinsky has been suspended for one game following his cross-check to the back of the neck of Sidney Crosby Friday night.
The NHL Department of Player Safety announced the ruling following a hearing on Saturday.
“In this case, while Dubinsky’s cross-check is not overly violent or forceful, it is an intentional strike to an opponent’s head using his stick,” reads the video accompanying the ruling. “This is not a case where the head contact was caused by a sudden movement by Crosby, or by a stick riding up a player’s back or shoulders and making subsequent contact with the head.”
The video also points to the fact that Dubinsky delivered a second cross-check to Crosby’s body after the Penguins’ captain went down.
Dubinsky was issued a a two-minute minor penalty following the incident, which occurred at 18:40 of the second period. He went on to set up the overtime winner for a Blue Jackets victory.
Crosby left the game for a short period of time, but did return.
“Honestly, I didn’t even see it, so I didn’t know how it looked. I just know how it felt,” Crosby said after the game, noting the rivalry between the clubs and his own history with Dubinsky. (The two even fought in a game last February.)
“I’m not surprised. If I was going to get one of those shots it would probably be from him.”
Dubinsky also spoke to reporters after the game.
“That’s not the type of player I am. I’m going to play hard, but try and play fair and play in between the whistle,” he said. “I think the stick rode up a little bit, but it wasn’t malicious or vicious or too hard in my opinion…I’m not out there to injure anybody. I’m not out there to hurt him.”
The single-game unpaid suspension means Dubinsky forfeits $31,451.61 of his salary, which goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.