The New Jersey Devils lost forward Timo Meier to a game misconduct on Monday night in the middle of a chippy contest against the Nashville Predators.
Meier got the ejection and a five-minute major penalty for throwing a cross-check to the face of Predators forward Zachary L'Heureux. The incident came with less than eight minutes remaining in the third period as the two came together after a Devils scoring chance.
L'Heureux gave Meier a shot in the back, leading to the Swiss forward delivering two cross-checks. The second one caught L'Heureux up high, drawing blood from the 21-year-old.
Prior to the play, L'Heureux caught Paul Cotter with a hip-check, sending the Devils forward to the bench in noticeable pain.
New Jersey went on to win 5-2, with Meier picking up an assist and five shots on goal in 13 minutes and 37 seconds of ice time.
Entering Monday's game, the 28-year-old had scored seven goals and 14 points in 23 games. He had been averaging 17 minutes and 18 seconds of ice time per game for the now 15-7-2 Devils.
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