Minnesota Wild Forward Suspended Automatically for Dirty Check to the Head

Though not traditional rivals, Thursday's Minnesota Wild vs. Carolina Hurricanes game got heated in a hurry, with plenty of action as this game sits at 3-2 at the end of the first period.

The biggest moment of the game however was a dirty hit from veteran forward Tyler Pitlick on Carolina's Jalen Chatfield, with the former taking a run at Chatfield, ending with a dirty check to the head.

What that means is that Pitlick was handed a match penalty by the officials following the brutal hit that made direct and forceful contact to Chatfield's head, with the league handing out automatic suspensions for anyone in that situation.

The suspension is of course pending league review, but given how much danger Pitlick put Chatfield in with this hit, it's safe to say that if the NHL and the Department of Player Safety do actually care for the safety of their players, this suspension will be upheld.

There's a major difference between trying to make a physical play that turns a game around and taking someone out with a direct shot to the head, and while Pitlick has never been suspended in his NHL career, this was the move of someone with experience in taking their opponents out.

Ultimately, this was a disgusting hit from a player looking to make a difference, and with the automatic suspension, it's likely to be upheld given the danger Pitlick put his opponent in, with the Hurricanes likely to look at getting retribution at some point in this game.