Edmonton Oilers forward Jujhar Khaira has been suspended for two games without pay for cross-checking Vince Dunn of the St. Louis Blues. The hit occurred Tuesday in the third period of play. The Oilers ultimately fell to the Blues, 4-1. The NHL Player Safety announced the suspension Wednesday evening.

Edmonton’s Jujhar Khaira has been suspended for two games for cross-checking St. Louis’ Vince Dunn. https://t.co/TG5gPxCGKp

— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) December 19, 2018

Oilers Jujhar Khaira Suspended

Khaira received a five-minute major penalty and game misconduct after he landed a hard retaliatory check to the head of Dunn. The sequence of events was set in motion when Khaira initially connected a clean hit on the blues defenseman, who responded with a strong cross-check to Khairas head in front of the Blues net. That hit led to Khairas check to Dunn’s face and both players were penalized.

The NHL Player Safety released a video clarifying that although both players hits were illegal, they believe Khairas retaliatory cross-check was significantly more vicious. The suspension will cost Khaira $7,258. He won’t be eligible to return to the lineup until December 29th when Edmonton faces the San Jose Sharks. Dunn earned a two-minute minor penalty for the play. He was also fined the maximum allowable amount of $1,942 on Wednesday.

This is Khaira’s first NHL suspension. Though he’s not a big name player for the club yet, his season was seemingly beginning to take off. He notched three points in the past four games. Khaira has been showing a surprising amount of potential this season, showing signs of mimicking the production he showed at the AHL level. He’s currently averaging 11:34 of ice time under head coach Ken Hitchcock, who recently promoted him to the second line alongside Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jesse Puljujarvi.

Khaira was chosen by Edmonton in the third round of the 2012 NHL draft with the 63rd overall pick. Khaira owns two goals and 11 assists for 13 points in 33 games this season. Over his four-year NHL career with the Oilers, he has tallied 14 goals and 23 assists for 37 points in 127 career games.

Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images