NEAL Pionk didn’t skate Saturday but appeared fully intact the morning after taking a couple of sinister hits from San Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane.
An elbow levelled at Pionk’s head late in the third period, the second of two MMA-style manoeuvres administered to the Winnipeg blue-liner, has cost the former Jets winger big time. Kane received a minor penalty for elbowing on the play but was slapped with a three-game suspension Saturday by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety.
Kane forfeits US$112,903.23 of his salary to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund. He’s considered a repeat offender with a couple of suspensions in the past, including a three-game punishment at the beginning of the season for abuse of an official.