SHANABANNED: Nate Thompson gets two games for vicious elbow
If the NHL's Department of Player Safety updates their instructional videos over the summer, Nate Thompson might want to request a copy for posterity. There's a better than zero chance the Tampa Bay forward will have a starring role.
Thompson was dinged Saturday afternoon for two games after delivering a textbook head shot on New Jersey's Matt D'Agostini on Friday night.
Hard to believe he was able to mount much of a defense. The case was a clear violation of Rule 48. As Sheriff Shanny noted, Thompson "recklessly target[ed] D'Agostini's head by extending up and making it the principle point of contact."
The evidence was pretty damning -- I mean, Thompson was eyeing his target all the way and clearly had the chance to use the body instead of throwing a brutally obvious elbow -- but D'Agostini wasn't hurt on the play. And since that element clearly weighs heavily in all DPS deliberations, there wasn't going to be a book thrown today.