Avalanche’s Matt Stienburg suspended two games for hit on Lightning’s Erik Cernak

Colorado Avalanche forward Matt Steinberg has been suspended for two games for a charging hit on Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak.

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Colorado’s Matt Stienburg has been suspended for two games for charging Tampa Bay’s Erik Cernak. nhl.com/video/topic/pl…

9:41 PM · Oct 31, 2024

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Stienburg received a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct.

The Avalanche would go on to lose the game 5-2.

Through eight games this season, Stienburg has no points and 22 penalty minutes, averaging 6:05 of ice time.

Stienburg, a native of Halifax, N.S., was drafted by the Avalanche in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. He would play three seasons with the NCAA’s Cornell University between 2019 and 2023 (the 2020-21 season was wiped out due to the COVID-19 pandemic), scoring 20 goals and 46 assists for 66 points and 93 penalty minutes through 73 games.

Stienburg has spent parts of three seasons with the Avalanche’s AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. During his lone full season in the minors, he scored five goals and eight assists for 13 points and 63 penalty minutes through 54 games.

The Avalanche are 5-6-0 through their first 10 games of the season. After starting the year with four consecutive losses, they responded with five straight wins before losing their last two, including Thursday’s loss to Tampa Bay.

Defenseman Cale Makar has been an offensive machine, scoring four goals and 15 assists for a team-leading 19 points through the team’s first 11 games. Forward Nathan MacKinnon isn’t far behind, producing 18 points with five goals and 13 assists.

Colorado’s next game is Saturday on the road against the Nashville Predators. Puck drop is at 8 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT.