NEW YORK — The NHL suspended Islanders forwards Trevor Gillies for nine games, Matt Martin for four and handed the club a $100,000 fine Saturday night for their actions in a fight-filled win over the Penguins.
Only enforcer Eric Godard was punished on the Penguins side by the league as he received an automatic 10-game suspension for leaving the bench Friday night to join a third-period brawl.
Gillies’ ban was for delivering a blow to the head of Penguins forward Eric Tangradi and punching him several times, leaving him with concussionlike symptoms. Martin was suspended for punching Penguins forward Max Talbot from behind.
Already dealing with a growing number of concussions, the NHL is taking serious measures to punish head contact.
“The actions by the Islanders’ Gillies and Martin were deliberate attempts to injure by delivering blows to the head of players who were unsuspecting and unable to defend themselves,” league disciplinarian Colin Campbell said. “The message should be clear to all players: Targeting the head of an opponent by whatever means will be dealt with by suspension.”
