Sestito suspended 4 games for illegal check on Enstrom

At the dying seconds of Tom Sestito’s mere 1:02 minutes of ice-time, the Penguins forward nailed Jets defenceman Toby Enstrom from behind, resulting in an ejection.

Sestito’s punishment didn’t end at an ejection, as the leauge’s department of player safety has announced a four-game suspension for the hit.

As you can see in the league’s explanation video, a few obvious factors played into the Sestito decision.

First off, it’s a dirty hit as the point of contact was directly on the back of Enstrom’s jersey. Secondly, Enstrom suffered an injury on the play and headed to the hospital after the game to check for facial fractures. Third, this isn’t Sestito’s first disciplinary sanction from the league as he was suspended four games for a hit from behind on Andrei Deveaux back in 2011.

While a suspension provides some sort of justice, the health of Toby Enstrom remains the team’s priority.