"Dany Heatley's little cheap shot" as Dallas Stars forward Steve Ott described it last night after a physical game with the San Jose Sharks has warranted supplemental discipline from the NHL.
Heatley will sit for two games for his elbow to the head of Ott, and no punishment will be handed out to Douglas Murray after his hit on Loui Eriksson or Jamie Langenbrunner after his hit from behind on Niclas Wallin.
From the NHL:
TORONTO (March 16, 2011) — San Jose Sharks forward Dany Heatley has been suspended for two games and will forfeit $80,645.16 in salary for delivering an elbow to the head of Dallas Stars player Steve Ott in NHL game #1049 last night, the National Hockey League announced today.
Heatley's fine is based on his average annual salary and is calculated under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.
The incident occurred at 15:54 of the third period and Heatley was assessed a minor penalty for interference.
Heatley will miss the Sharks' next two games -- March 17 against Minnesota and March 19 against St. Louis. He will be eligible to return March 23 against Calgary.
Here's the play that resulted in a two-minute interference call on Heatley:
Pretty open and shut case. But if the NHL wants to crack down on these head hits, is two games enough?
In other supplemental discipline news, Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins will have a hearing on Thursday afternoon after his blindside headshot to R.J. Umberger of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Considering Umberger, like Ott, wasn't injured, it looks like another two-game suspension will be handed out tomorrow.