Avalanche's Matt Stienburg was suspended two games for charges

Colorado Avalanche rookie Matt Stienburg was suspended two games Thursday for attacking defenseman Erik Cernak during Wednesday's 5-2 home loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The discipline came after Stienburg had a hearing with the NHL's Department of Player Safety, which determined his hit was unnecessary and dangerous.

The forward left his feet and lunged over the boards into Cernak after Cernak passed the puck to a teammate. The 24-year-old Stienburg received a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct penalty. Cernak left the game and did not return.

“… Stienburg unnecessarily rises, twists his body and launches a check that makes significant contact with Cernak's head and is executed with the necessary force worthy of additional discipline,” a player safety officer said in an explanatory video.

Stienburg, a third-round pick in 2019, made his NHL debut on October 16. In eight games he has no points with 16 goals and 22 penalty minutes.

He will not be available for Colorado's road game on Saturday against the Nashville Predators or its subsequent home game on Tuesday against the Seattle Kraken.

The Nova Scotia native played three seasons at Cornell before contributing 13 points (five goals, eight assists) and 63 penalty minutes in 54 games with the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League in 2023-24.