Nikolaj Ehlers hit with illegal check to the head by Canucks’ Sbisa; briefly leaves game

Photo Credit: Bruce Fedyck/USA TODAY Sports

The Winnipeg Jets are struggling, and can’t afford to lose arguably their single most dynamic offensive threat.

That’s precisely what may have occurred early in Wednesday night’s game against the Vancouver Canucks, when rookie Nikolaj Ehlers was tagged by a hard hit, which the officials called an illegal check to the head, thrown by defenseman Luca Sbisa. 

Ehlers skated off of the bench immediately while favouring his left shoulder, but he returned before the end of the first period. Meanwhile the Jets scored on the ensuing power play and Anthony Peluso pounded Sbisa a couple of shifts later.

Here’s the hit in question:

Sbisa definitely made contact with Ehlers’ head, but Ehlers is leaning over and I don’t know that the head was the principal point of contact, nor was the head specifically targeted on the play. I’d be a bit surprised if Sbisa were to receive supplementary discipline for the hit, although his elbow wasn’t tucked, which could draw the ire of the league.

In a funny moment following the hit, Sbisa thought that he’d have to answer for Alexander Burmistrov rather than Chris Thorburn:

Here’s the price that Sbisa paid for throwing the hit on Ehlers, courtesy hockeyfights.com. It was a steep one: