Quinn Hughes isn’t regarded as a dirty player in the NHL, but now he faces a suspension after an illegal check to the back of Ottawa’s Josh Norris.

Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday night features a fantastic battle between the Ottawa Senators and Vancouver Canucks, but unfortunately things have now turned ugly.

During the game, Josh Norris had the puck behind the net with his back to the play, and unfortunately, Canucks captain Quinn Hughes checked him to the back, resulting in a brutal injury that caused a five-minute major and a game misconduct.

As noted by Insider Elliotte Friedman, this isn’t as bad as we usually see in this type of play, but given the injury sustained to Norris on the face, it was the right call in the eyes of the official.

And, as per rule 41.5, a boarding major resulting “in an injury to the face or head of an opponent” means an automatic game misconduct

Despite initially heading to the penalty box, Hughes was then given the game misconduct, meaning that he will no doubt hear from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety on Sunday afternoon.

There’s certainly no guarantee of a suspension on the play, especially given how questionable and inconsistent the DoPS have been in recent years, but after the call on the ice was a game misconduct, they will certainly give this one a closer look.

At high speeds, it’s easy to see why Hughes made the play that he did, but given the injury to Norris it’s simply a bad play on the captain’s part, and if the DoPS wants to be consistent, he’ll spend likely 1-2 games on the sidelines.

Since the play, Norris managed to make it back to the ice and will finish the game, so for Hughes, that may play into any potential discipline, but for now, we will wait and see how this all plays out.