Niklas Hjalmarsson of the Blackhawks, suspended for two games by the NHL for his hit on the Sabres’ Jason Pominville Monday night, had these comments on the hit and the suspension:
“If I could turn back time I probably would have acted different,” Hjalmarsson said. “You can’t do that. You have to make decisions fast out there.”
Hjalmarrson had a hearing with NHL on Tuesday to give his take on the incident.
“It was too hard of a hit, I guess,” Hjalmarsson said. "Maybe I should have considered (Pominville) being in a vulnerable position and not hit him as hard. That’s what they said.
“I really didn’t mean to hurt Jason. That’s not the way I play. Maybe I went in too hard. Maybe I didn’t. It’s tough to say. It’s a little bit tough to know what to do or not to do. The bottom line is you have to have respect for the guys you play and maybe I hit him a little bit too hard.”
Let’s hope this is the final word on this and that the Sabres don’t feel they “have” to retaliate — that could escalate this into an ugly war.