Tampa Bay Lightning’s Erik Cernak suspended two games for elbowing Sabres’ Kyle Okposo

Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak has been suspended two games by the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety for elbowing Buffalo Sabres forward Kyle Okposo on Thursday night.

The incident occurred late in the third period when Okposo was being trailed by Lightning forward Brandon Hagel, Okposo tried to receive a drop pass from Casey Mittlestadt and as Okposo gained possession, Cernak lined him up along the boards with a high elbow. 

Okposo does have a well-documented history of concussions, but he was able to get up on his own and remained on the ice. He and Sabres head coach Don Granato were livid with no penalty being called on the play. Okposo has tallied 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists) in 49 games this season. He is just 42 games shy of reaching the 1,000 NHL game milestone.

Cernak logged 19:34 of action against the Sabres and picked up an assist and plus-one rating in the 6-5 overtime loss to the Sabres. This season, Cernak has registered 11 points (one goal, 10 assists), 164 hits and 78 blocked shots in 51 games this season. The two-time Stanley Cup champion sits tied for 13th with Ottawa Senators’ Brady Tkachuk among NHL  hits leaders. 

The Kosice, Slovakia product has previously been suspended before for elbowing; in fact, it also came against the Sabres. In 2019, Cernak elbowed Rasmus Dahlin resulting in a two-game suspension and based on his salary at the time, he had to forfeit $7,500. Cernak is currently in the final year of a three-year extension he signed in 2020. Last summer he signed an 8-year $41 million extension; his contract has an average annual value of $5.2 million starting in 2023-24.

This is also the first suspension in the NHL in 63 days, as pointed out by Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli.