The Department of Player Safety came down on Dante Fabbro, ruling that the two-minute minor he received for elbowing Brock McGinn was not enough. The league suspended the Nashville Predators defenseman two games for the incident. As the accompanying video explains:
It is important to note that players often hold their arms in front of their chest when delivering a hit to ensure that their chest does not absorb the full impact of the contact. However, on this hit, Fabbro does not keep his arm tight to his body, but instead extends it up and away from his chest, driving it directly into McGinn’s head. What causes this hit to rise to the level of supplementary discipline is Fabbro’s significant extension of his elbow upward and the direct head contact, combined with the force of the blow.
McGinn did leave the game initially but returned before it was over. Fabbro had not been fined or suspended in his NHL career prior to this, though that spans just 94 games so far.
The Predators will now be without Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis and Fabbro for the next two games, leaving Mattias Ekholm as the only true top-four option on the roster. That means younger players like Jeremy Davies and Alexandre Carrier, both up on emergency loans, will likely be asked to play significant roles.
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