Sabres defenseman suspended for illegal check to the head

The incident occurred late in the first period of Friday’s game against the New Jersey Devils. Clifton, 28, went for a hit on Devils center Nico Hischier well after he had deflected the puck into the zone, and the primary point of contact was Hischier’s head. Clifton received a match penalty for the infraction, along with a fighting major after Ondrej Palat instigated a fight in defense of Hischier. Clifton ended up with 20 penalty minutes and no points in 4:28 in the game.

This is the first infraction of Clifton’s career, as he had no suspensions or fines in his previous history. The NHL Department of Player Safety cited that as the reason for the suspension only being two games, although the contact to the head still allowed it to be more than just a fine.

Outside of the suspension, Clifton is off to a solid start to his Buffalo Sabres career, with one assist in eight games. He’s also well known for his defensive play, as his 2.14 5v5 expected goals against since 2020 is tied for 11th among defenders with at least 1,000 minutes played, although he hasn’t been nearly as effective in that regard so far this season at 2.67.

Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said that Jacob Bryson will be put into the lineup in Clifton’s place, and he will slot on the bottom pair with Erik Johnson. Bryson has yet to play a game this season, as he’s been a healthy scratch all season so far but has not been sent down to the AHL.

Clifton is a former fifth-round pick of the Phoenix Coyotes in 2013, although he did not sign an entry-level contract until 2018 with the Boston Bruins, playing parts of five seasons with them before joining the Sabres this season. He’s in the first year of a three-year contract with a $3,333,333 cap hit.