Eakin receives 4-game suspension for hit on Lundqvist

Dallas Stars center Cody Eakin will sit out four games for his hit on Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist Thursday night. Eakin had a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety Friday afternoon and a short time later was suspended four games for charging Lundqvist.
The play happened in the first period. Eakin was assessed a major penalty for charging and a game misconduct after he hit Lundqvist hard and high as the New York goaltender played the puck behind the net. Lundqvist went to the Rangers locker room after the hit but returned and finished the game. Here's part of the league's explanation for the suspension:
"The contact Eakin made with Lundqvist is not incidental, rather it is a forceful blow delivered by Eakin's shoulder to Lundqvist. Also, in our opinion, Eakin does not make a reasonable effort to avoid such contact. As the forechecker, the route taken by Eakin is entirely up to him. He takes an approach that will require some effort on his part to avoid contact with the goaltender. Then, rather than making such an effort to lean, jump around or otherwise avoid or minimize the force of the hit, Eakin loads up, braces for contact and delivers an intentional and forceful hit to Lundqvist, making substantial contact with the goaltender's head."
Under terms of the CBA, Eakin will forfeit $85,555.56 in salary during the four-game suspension. The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.
This is the first time Eakin has been disciplined by the league. He will be eligible to return for the Dec. 29 game vs. Colorado.

Looking for results
The Dallas Stars continue their homestand Saturday against the hottest team in the league in the Philadelphia Flyers, who have won ten straight games. The Stars are coming off a 2-0 loss to the New York Rangers Thursday in which they played well but couldn't cash in on several good opportunities and the Rangers took advantage of a Dallas mistake to score shorthanded and break a scoreless tie in the third period. The loss dropped the Stars to 12-14-6 on the season.
"Try to take some positives out of it. It was a pretty good game five-on-five, but obviously, we've got to start getting some results," said Stars forward Jason Spezza. "As a whole, we've probably done better things over the past six games, haven't seen the results yet. Now, we've got to start finding ways to win games."
The Stars' five-on-five game has been good lately. They've allowed one goal or fewer during five-on-five play in seven of their past ten games, but they are 3-6-1 in those ten games. But they've struggled to score five-on-five as well, scoring one goal or fewer in six of those games.
"Everything is good except the results," said Spezza. "We've got better structure five-on-five, we've given up less, but we have to find a way to score more. We've got to find a way to get on the right side of the ledger right now. We're doing some good things, but the most important thing is to get wins."
Special teams have been a sore spot over the past nine games. They've been outscored 11-4 in that area. The penalty kill, which has been good the past two games, is 26-35 (74.3 percent) over the past nine. The power play is 4-34 (11.8 percent) and has allowed two shorthanded goals. The power play was 0-5 Thursday night despite creating some great chances and gave up a crucial shorthanded goal.
"We've just got to score goals," said Spezza. "I'd take an ugly looking 2-5 over a pretty looking 0-5. We've got to get back to doing what we do best - make plays and when we get chances we've got to bury them."
Injury Notes: McKenzie ready to return; Honka off IR, assigned to AHL
\Stars forward Curtis McKenzie, who has missed the past two games with an upper-body injury, will return to the lineup on Saturday.
\Stars forward Patrick Sharp, who has missed the past seven games with concussion-like symptoms, practiced Friday but is not ready to return, according to Stars coach Lindy Ruff.
*Stars defenseman Julius Honka, who has missed the past five games with an upper-body injury, was activated from injured reserve Friday and assigned to the Texas Stars of the AHL. Honka registered three assists in eight games during his first call-up to the NHL.
Practice Lineup
Here's a look at how the Stars lined up in Friday's practice. Patrick Eaves (maintenance) did not skate.
Jamie Benn - Tyler Seguin - Patrick Sharp/Cody Eakin
Antoine Roussel - Radek Faksa - Brett Ritchie
Lauri Korpikoski - Jason Spezza - Jiri Hudler
Curtis McKenzie - Devin Shore - Adam Cracknell
Esa Lindell - John Klingberg
Dan Hamhuis - Stephen Johns/Julius Honka
Johnny Oduya - Jordie Benn
Patrik Nemeth - Jamie Oleksiak
Antti Niemi
Kari Lehtonen
This story was not subject to approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club. Mark Stepneski is an independent writer whose posts on DallasStars.com reflect his own opinions and do not represent official statements from the Dallas Stars. You can follow Mark on Twitter @StarsInsideEdge.