Draisaitl facing suspension after cheap shot on Horvat?

The Knob Era officially kicked off for the Edmonton Oilers last night.

New head coach Kris Knoblauch started off his NHL head coaching career with a tidy 4-1 victory over the struggling New York Islanders, in a relatively easy game for the Oilers. The Islanders have the worst offence in the entire NHL and didn't seem to really pressure the Oilers' defence nor goaltender Stuart Skinner all evening. So, while a win in his first game is certainly impressive, it's not like Knoblauch has solved all of the Oilers' problems. It's funny how playing against a struggling team can help kick start some offence.

In any case, a win is a win and the Oilers have nothing to apologize for last night. Well... maybe Leon Draisaitl owes Bo Horvat an apology but that's besides the point.

Midway through the game while digging for a loose puck along the side boards, Draisaitl absolutely chopped Horvat down with a cross check to the back of the thighs that looked... well... it looked incredibly painful.

Check it out:

Horvat got up after the hit and played the rest of the game just fine, but that looks like a blatant attempt to injure to me. I can almost feel the giant bruise developing on the back of Horvat's leg as I type this. Ouch.

Draisaitl is earning a bit of a reputation around the league as a cheap shot artist and I wouldn't be surprised if he hears from NHL Player Safety for this transgression. It's also worth noting that Draisaitl did receive a two minute penalty on the play. 

No harm, no foul, right?

I guess so, but if Draisaitl keeps this sort of play up he's going to get what's coming to him sooner or later. Horvat isn't the type of guy to hunt you down away from the play, but eventually Draisaitl is going to pull a stunt like this to the wrong player and he'll have to deal with the consequences of his own actions.

For what it's worth though, I don't think Draisaitl's actions will merit a suspension from NHL Player Safety, but I wouldn't be surprised if he gets a phone call and a fine.