The Islanders won’t have Maxim Tsyplakov for the next three games, with the left winger receiving a three-game suspension for his hit against the Flyers’ Ryan Poehling — an illegal check to the head — during Thursday’s game, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced Friday.
Just over nine minutes into the first period Thursday, Tsyplakov skated toward Poehling as he cut toward the net for a tight-angle shot and lowered his left shoulder.
Poehling exited with an injury and didn’t return, but Tsyplakov wasn’t called for a penalty on the play.
He had a hearing Friday, though, with the suspension — which will keep him out of the lineup during the Islanders’ upcoming games against the Sharks, Blue Jackets and Flyers — getting announced afterward.
Tsyplakov, a 26-year-old rookie from Russia, has collected seven goals and 19 points during the first 44 games of NHL career, cycling through different spots of head coach Patrick Roy’s lineup.
He hasn’t recorded a point since Dec. 21.
And with the Islanders eight points out of a playoff spot entering Friday’s games, and with their season already slipping away amid injuries and inconsistencies stacking together, they’ll need to adjust again with Tsyplakov not eligible to return until their Jan. 25 game against the Hurricanes.
