- Editor's Note: Sheng Peng will be a regular contributor to NBC Sports California’s Sharks coverage. You can read more of his coverage on San Jose Hockey Now, listen to him on the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast, and follow him on Twitter at @Sheng_Peng.
You can’t hit your opponent in the head with a stick.
And you can’t hit your opponent in the head with a stick on a non-hockey play because you’re mad.
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SIGN UP HERE That’s why Sharks forward Tomas Hertl was suspended for two games for high-sticking Elias Lindholm in the head during San Jose's 5-2 loss to the Calgary Flames on Sunday night.
I get that Hertl was upset that Lindholm was cross-checking him in the back and the arm at the drop of the puck. That’s not a clear-cut penalty on the Flames center, but it could’ve been.
I get, as the Sharks argued to the NHL Department of Player Safety, that the force from Hertl’s high stick wasn’t very forceful. And thank goodness it wasn’t, because Lindholm might’ve been seriously injured, and Hertl would’ve missed a lot more than two games.
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I get that Hertl probably didn’t mean to hit Lindholm high. But as the replay showed, this wasn’t a case where Hertl was aiming for a much lower area, and it glanced up.