Washington Capitals defenseman John Erskine was suspended three games for an elbow to the head of Philadelphia Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds on Friday night, per ESPN.com.

Simmonds did not return to the game. There was no penalty called on the play, which happened with 1:51 left in the first period.

NHL Vice President of Player Safety Brendan Shanahan called it a “reckless elbow,” which oddly enough wasn’t detected in the game. Simmonds left the game late in the first and wasn’t in the lineup Saturday as he’s still dealing with head and neck injuries. This is the first suspension of Erskine’s career, which has totaled 429 games in 12 seasons.

“Obviously, he’s got a head injury and probably a little bit of whiplash going on right now,” Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said after the game. “He seemed OK after the game. We’re just going to have to wait and see how he is (Saturday).”


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