Any time an player uses his skate in a situation that is dangerous and not him trying to progress the puck the NHL will notice and not hesitate to dole out a suspension.
Such is the case for Jeff Skinner of the Carolina Hurricanes, who in a game on Thursday night against the St. Louis Blues used his skate to push away Scott Nichol as the two were tangled along the boards. For that, the Shanahammer swung in Skinner's direction and he was given a two-game ban.
Here's Brendan Shanahan explaining the decision:
From the NHL:
Carolina Hurricanes forward Jeff Skinner has been suspended for two games, without pay, for kicking St. Louis Blues forward Scott Nichol during NHL Game #1055 in Carolina on Thursday, March 15, the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety announced today.
Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and based on his average annual salary, Skinner will forfeit $9,729.72. The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.
The incident occurred at 19:03 of the second period. No penalty was assessed on the play.
While Shanahan points out that Skinner was warned for a slew-foot 24 hours before this incident, that shouldn't matter. Bobby Ryan, Chris Pronger and Chris Simon have all been punished in the past using their skates in a dangerous manner and rightfully so. It's a miracle skate-related injuries don't happen more often with as fast as the game has become.
In other NHL supplementary discipline news on Friday, Phoenix Coyotes captain Shane Doan was fined $2,500 for boarding Mark Giordano of the Calgary Flames.
Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy