Buchnevich tossed from the game after ugly headbutt

In case you missed it last night, St. Louis Blues forward Pavel Buchnevich was assessed a match penalty and a game misconduct penalty for headbutting Arizona Coyotes forward Lawson Crouse.

Seriously?! A headbutt? Seriously... check it out:

And here's a closer look:

What is Buchnevich thinking here!?

There's an official in between him and Crouse and he just blatantly chucks his forehead at him regardless. You're almost certainly getting tossed from the game when you pull a stunt like that and now Buchnevich is likely looking at a suspension as well. Again... what is he thinking here?!

The ironic thing is that Buchnevich was actually having a pretty good game up until this point. He had scored his first goal as a member of the Blues just minutes earlier and was setting up teammates left and right. But when confronted by Crouse after elbowing Andrew Ladd during the run of play, this is how Buchnevich responds. Pretty gutless if you ask me.

It's worth noting that this is the second headbutting incident in the NHL in just the last three days. This past weekend, Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson appeared to headbutt Edmonton Oilers forward Kailer Yamamoto. Andersson got a double minor for roughing and elbowing. He avoided a suspension but was fined when video was shown that seemed to indicate Andersson inadvertently headbutted Yamamoto.

In Buchnevich's case, I don't see how he could argue that this was inadvertent. He seems pretty deliberate with his actions and the fact that he didn't protest his penalty tells you all you need to know.

For what it's worth, Blues had coach Craig Berube wasn't willing to talk to reporters about this play after game, a clear indication that he does't want to put his foot in his mouth... especially while the league is likely drawing up punishment.

"I've got to look at it," Berube said to reporters following the game. "I honestly haven't looked at it yet. It is what it is ... I've got to look at it. I don't really have a comment on it right now."

How many games is Buchnevich looking at here? One? Two to three?