Nichol suspended nine games
Nashville Predators forward Scott Nichol was suspended for nine games by the NHL on Friday for his sucker-punch to the head of Buffalo defenseman Jaroslav Spacek.
The suspension was issued following a hearing conducted by conference call by NHL executive Colin Campbell. Nichol will be eligible to return Jan. 13. He will lose $25,267 in salary.
“Ottawa scoring leader Jason Spezza will be out indefinitely after injuring his knee during a loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
On the ice
Blackhawks 3, Maple Leafs 1: At Chicago, Peter Bondra scored his 500th NHL goal early in the third period and Chicago defeated Toronto.
Bryan Smolinski and Brent Seabrook also scored for Chicago.
John Pohl scored a power-play goal for Toronto.
Toronto center Michael Peca injured his right knee in the first period and had to be helped from the ice.
Devils 4, Capitals 1: At Washington, Patrik Elias’ tip-in snapped a second-period tie as New Jersey beat Washington.
Travis Zajac and Zach Parise had power-play goals for the Devils.
Chris Clark scored for Washington.
Alex Ovechkin had his point-scoring streak snapped at a season-high eight games.
Hurricanes 5, Islanders 1: At Raleigh, N.C., Rod Brind’Amour had a goal and two assists and Carolina scored four power-play goals in beating New York.
Justin Williams scored his fifth goal in a five-game span for the Hurricanes.
Erik Cole, Eric Belanger and Scott Walker also scored, while Cory Stillman had three assists and former Spokane Chief Ray Whitney added two.
Chris Simon scored for the Islanders.
Blue Jackets 3, Canucks 2: At Columbus, Ohio, Anson Carter had a goal and an assist and Columbus handed Vancouver its third straight loss.
Aaron Johnson and Rick Nash also scored for Columbus. Ron Hainsey added two assists.
Kevin Bieksa and Daniel Sedin scored for Vancouver.
Red Wings 3, Wild 1: At Detroit, Dan Cleary broke a tie with a short-handed goal in the second period, and Dominik Hasek made 34 saves to help Detroit beat Minnesota.
Henrik Zetterberg and Nicklas Lidstrom also scored for the Red Wings.
Stephane Veilleux scored for Minnesota.