The incident occurred in the second period, moments after Stars captain Jamie Benn knocked Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman out of the game with a late hit of his own.
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Tampa Bay Lightning defenceman Nikita Nesterov is expected to face the NHL’s Department of Player Safety for his hit from behind on Dallas Stars forward Curtis Mckenzie. Clowney injured his right ankle before halftime in Houston’s loss to the Colts on October 8, but returned after missing only a couple of plays.
Nesterov said this morning that he did not intend to hurt McKenzie, and the hit was a “bad situation”.
The 22-year-old Nesterov will forfeit $7,983 in salary to go to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
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Dallas recalled McKenzie Tuesday after placing forward Patrick Eaves on IR, also with a lower-body injury. Nesterov will be eligible to return to action next Friday night. Drafted in the first round of the 2012 National Hockey League Entry Draft, Koekkoek spent three games during the regular season in 2014-2015 with Tampa Bay; although this would be his first game with the National Hockey League club this year, it’s unlikely to be his last.
