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Stars’ Eakin will have a hearing for hit on Rangers’ Lundqvist

After New York’s 2-0 win over the Stars, Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault made it clear that he wasn’t happy with Cody Eakin’s hit on Henrik Lundqvist.

During his post-game press conference, Vigneault made it clear what he wanted the league to do.

“The League better do something about the hit,” said Alain Vigneault, per Sportsnet.ca. “It’s everything that you want to take away from the game-hit to the head, forward motion, and it’s a goaltender.”

Just a few hours later, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety granted Vigneault’s wish:

Eakin was given a game misconduct and a match penalty for clobbering Lundqvist behind the Rangers’ net and don’t be surprised if he’s forced to miss his team’s next couple of games.

The Department of Player Safety labelled the hit a “charge” and here’s some more info regarding that kind of hit:

Major Penalty - The Referee, at his discretion, may assess a major penalty, based on the degree of violence of the check, to a player guilty of charging an opponent.

Match Penalty - The Referee, at his discretion, may assess a match penalty if, in his judgment, the player attempted to or deliberately injured his opponent by charging.

Game Misconduct Penalty - When a major penalty is imposed under this rule for a foul resulting in an injury to the face or head of an opponent, a game misconduct shall be imposed.

Fines and Suspensions - When a major penalty and a game misconduct is assessed for a foul resulting in an injurto the face or head of an opponent, an automatic fine of one hundred dollars ($100) shall be imposed.

If deemed appropriate, supplementary discipline can be applied by the Commissioner at his discretion.