Blackhawks: Drake Caggiula suspended one game for illegal hit

Drake Caggiula will miss game two for the Chicago Blackhawks following an illegal check to the head of Oilers’ forward Tyler Ennis.

The Chicago Blackhawks will be without Drake Caggiula for one game, following his illegal hit to the head of Tyler Ennis. Fans have been divided on the hit, as some were even surprised there wasn’t a penalty called during the game.

The ironic part of the hit was Ennis was actually sent to the penalty box, as he was called for delay of game, as the puck went over the glass when he tried to move it up the ice for the Oilers.

Here’s the hit from Caggiula for fans who haven’t seen it yet.

So, was that worth a one-game suspension? I’m not sure. All bias aside, I had a feeling Drake was going to have to sit out at least one game for the hit, once it was announced he was going to have a hearing today.

I was mostly surprised that there wasn’t a penalty called on him for the hit to Ennis. After watching it over and over, you see Caggiula lifts his elbow a bit and his shoulder connects with Ennis’ chin. After that, you saw Ennis and Caggiula get in a scuffle, with Caggiula pushing Ennis to the ground.

After everything that happened, I was shocked there wasn’t at least a 4-on-4 penalty following the play. I figured Caggiula would get a penalty for the hit and Ennis would get roughing for his involvement after the play.

At the end of the day, Caggiula made contact with the head of Tyler Ennis, which is against the league’s rules. He will serve a one-game suspension, which will be served for Game 2, tomorrow night.

My guess is Dylan Sikura will take Caggiula’s place for Game 2. Sikura had a good training camp and is ready for the chance to play. Hopefully, he can add the depth that is needed for just one game.

The negative part is, the Blackhawks are missing out on an aggressive player who lays the body on opponents, in Caggiula. Thankfully, it’s just for one game.