- Frank Nazar has a Player Safety hearing Friday for his hit on Bo Horvat
- Nazar has never been suspended in 127 NHL games
- Read below for the hit video, Horvat’s status and what a suspension could look like
Frank Nazar is headed to a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety.
The Blackhawks center is facing possible discipline for an illegal check to the head against Islanders captain Bo Horvat, per NHL.com. Player Safety announced the hearing Friday morning:
The hit came at 18:27 of the third period in the Islanders’ 4-1 win at UBS Arena. Horvat had just cleared the puck into the empty net when Nazar caught him up high with a shoulder. Nazar got a five-minute match penalty and was ejected, and Horvat did not return.
Check out the hit from our timeline:
Players from both teams piled in right after the hit. We broke down the penalty and the Islanders’ reaction in our earlier story on the match penalty.
Horvat’s status is still up in the air. Peter DeBoer told reporters after Islanders practice that Horvat is still being evaluated, according to Stefen Rosner:
The league still has to decide whether this ends in a fine or a suspension. If the hearing is handled by phone, supplemental discipline tops out at five games. Anything longer would need an in-person hearing.
Nazar has no previous suspensions across 127 career games. He has two goals and three points through five games this season, including the goal that ended Ilya Sorokin’s shutout bid a minute before the hit.
Chicago is 1-4-0 and plays the Hurricanes on Saturday. If Nazar sits, the Blackhawks lose one of their top young forwards.
Nazar’s status for that game stays in doubt until the league rules on the Blackhawks forward.
