Gabriel Landeskog suspended two games for hit, Brad Marchand fined for punch (Video)

It was a no-brainer … OK, poor choice of words ... it was rather obvious that Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog would be suspended for his hit to the head of Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand on Thursday night. He was given a match penalty for the blindside wallop, after all.

The only intrigue as the Department of Player Safety assessed the incident was if Marchand himself would get anything for his sucker punch on Landeskog in response to that hit.

We have our answer: Along with the two-game suspension Landeskog received, Marchand was fined $5,000, which is the maximum the NHL can fine one of its players and also the amount that probably fell out of Marchand’s pocket on the way to his car today because he’s making $4.5 million this season. That’ll teach’em! (Gotta love the CBA.)

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According to the NHL, the Landeskog suspension comes from a blindside hit with the head as the principle point of contact. Marchand was eligible to be hit after the shot and in that part of the ice, but Landeskog’s angle of approach made “the brunt of the contact” with Marchand’s head.

But no injury and a relatively clean record for Landeskog meant just two games for the hit. And no, the NHL doesn't take "also, it was Brad Marchard" into account, you jerks.

Marchand, meanwhile, gets the fine for the sucker punch. The NHL hasn’t always been consistent with sucker punch punishment, and sometimes allows for “heat of the moment” plays that are the direct result of someone else’s illegal play.

But Marchand becomes the first player since Antoine Roussel of the Dallas Stars in Nov. 2014 to earn a fine for a sucker punch. (John Scott was suspended four games for one in Dec. 2014.) So "also, it was Brad Marchand" does apparently come into play when assessing ... Brad Marchand.

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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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