NHL hands Red Wings’ David Perron six-game suspension, Blue Jackets’ Erik Gudbranson one-game suspension for vigilante incidents

The incident happened Saturday night, seconds after Zub’s teammates, Mathieu Joseph and Parker Kelly, made contact with Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin. The awkward collision saw Larkin fall to the ice, motionless for moments.

Perron looked over and saw Zub, who was not involved in the incident with Larkin, standing atop the forward before coming over and delivering a cross-check to his head. Perron was issued a match penalty on the play, with Joseph and Kelly being handed minors for roughing.

Meanwhile, Larkin could get to his feet and left the ice, and he has since landed on the injured reserve.

In Gudbranson’s case, his one-game suspension comes after he mauled Florida Panthers forward Nick Cousins late in the third period. It stemmed from an incident earlier in the frame, where Cousins hit Gudbranson from behind, with the latter going head-first into the boards. Gudbranson had popped up a few seconds later, going after the Panthers forward.

While Cousins was originally handed a five-minute major and a game misconduct, it was reviewed and recinded, reduced to a two-minute minor for boarding.

Later in the frame, Cousins entered the Blue Jackets zone, and Gudbranson rode him into the boards before throwing him to the ice, dropping his gloves, throwing punches. Cousins, meanwhile, turtled on the ice to protect himself as players from both sides jumped into the fray.

Gudbranson was issued two minutes for instigating, five for fighting, a 10-minute misconduct for the instigator, and an additional 10-minute game misconduct.

After the game, Blue Jackets head coach Pascal Vincent criticized the officiating.

“We believe it was a five-minute penalty,” said Vincent, referencing Cousins’ initial hit on Gudbranson. “If that call happens, (Gudbranson going after Cousins) doesn’t happen. (Gudbranson) could have gotten seriously injured there.”