New Jersey Devils defenseman Dalton Prout has been suspended two games for his hit on Philadelphia Flyers blue-liner Radko Gudas on Saturday, the league's Department of Player Safety announced Monday.

Prout received an interference major and a game misconduct for the hit, which came in retaliation for a clean body check by Gudas on Devils forward John Quenneville.

The league called the response a "forceful" hit to the "unsuspecting and defenseless" Gudas.

Prout clocked Gudas almost immediately after stepping on the ice for his shift, making "no attempt to join the play in any matter," according to the NHL.

The Devils rearguard is a repeat offender who was previously banned one game for punching Tampa Bay Lightning star Nikita Kucherov while he was with the Columbus Blue Jackets in March of last year.

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