SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 25: San Jose Sharks' Luke Kunin (11) waits for a face-off against the Los Angeles Kings in the first period of their preseason game at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 25, 2022. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
SAN JOSE – Sharks winger Luke Kunin was given a match penalty and ejected from Thursday’s game with the Florida Panthers after a high hit on Patric Hornqvist in the first period.
On the play, the puck had already slid into the Sharks’ zone when Kunin’s shoulder made contact with Hornqvist’s chin. Hornqvist made it to the Panthers’ bench but soon went to the team’s locker room at SAP Center after he was helped off the ice.
Hornqvist did not return to the ice for the rest of the first period and did not come out with the Panthers for the start of the second period.
Kunin was initially assessed a five-minute major for the hit at the 9:14 mark of the first period but after a review by officials, was also given a match penalty.
Per NHL rules, any player given a match penalty is automatically suspended from further competition until the commissioner, Gary Bettman, has ruled on the issue. The Sharks’ next game is Saturday at home against the Anaheim Ducks.
The Panthers scored one goal with the man advantage, as Aleksander Barkov beat Sharks goalie James Reimer at the 13:43 mark of the first period for his second goal of the season. Reimer made five saves on the penalty kill and a staggering 18 saves in the period.
Luke Kunin gets ejected from the game for a check to the head on Patric Hornqvist. pic.twitter.com/E6gnHI16WQ
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 4, 2022
Kunin, who was acquired from the Nashville Predators in the offseason, entered Thursday with one goal and four assists in 12 games. Before Thursday, Kunin led the Sharks with 15 penalty minutes.
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Originally published at Curtis Pashelka