Dallas Stars head coach Lindy Ruff does not object to the four-game suspension handed out to Cody Eakin on Friday.
The Department of Player Safety slapped the 25-year-old with a four-game ban for his charge on New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqivst in Thursday's contest and as Ruff sees it, Eakin was in the wrong.
"I expected (the suspension) to be within that range," Ruff said, according to NHL.com's Sean Shapiro. "It's something that I obviously don't condone. it wasn't a good play on his part, and he hurts the team by taking himself out of the lineup now."
The Stars could use all hands on deck as the team has struggled in December going 3-5-0 in eight games this month. The team currently sits four points out of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference and things aren't getting any easier.
The team's next three games pit them against the Philadelphia Flyers, the St. Louis Blues, and the Los Angeles Kings, clubs all seeded higher in the standings.
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