- Senators forward Hayden Hodgson was suspended two games for boarding Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke
- Hodgson forfeits $8,762.88 and misses games in San Jose and Anaheim
- Read below for his return date, the roster move and his history of discipline
Hayden Hodgson is suspended for two games.
The NHL Department of Player Safety announced Friday that the Senators forward will sit for boarding Brandt Clarke in Thursday night’s game in Los Angeles. Hodgson had a hearing earlier in the day, which we covered this morning.
The hit came at 11:10 of the second period. Hodgson lined Clarke up from several strides away and drove his head into the glass. He got a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct, and Clarke did not return. You can read more on the ejection and the hit itself.
Hodgson will forfeit $8,762.88 in salary, which goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund. He misses Saturday’s game at San Jose and Sunday’s game at Anaheim, and he’s eligible to return Wednesday at Buffalo.
Ottawa recalled wingers Xavier Bourgault and Philip Tomasino from Belleville of the AHL to fill the gap. The Senators were already without Andre Burakovsky, who left Thursday’s game with an upper-body injury, and they are in the middle of a five-game road trip.
Clarke was back on the ice for practice Friday, a good sign for Los Angeles. The 23-year-old has nine points in 12 games and sits second on the club in scoring.
This isn’t Hodgson’s first time dealing with discipline. He picked up 20 games worth of suspensions in the AHL over the past five seasons, including five games in February for an elbow on Cleveland. He was also fined the maximum $2,018 last October for boarding Montreal’s Alex Newhook in a preseason game.
The 30-year-old has 24 penalty minutes in five games with Ottawa this season, and a good chunk of that came in the Panthers-Senators brawl on Oct. 21.
