Niklas Hjalmarsson couldn't even get his equipment off. The cameras were there waiting for him Wednesday following the Blackhawks' morning skate.
Hjalmarsson was suspended two games by the NHL for his hard hit on Buffalo Sabres winger Jason Pominville in Monday's game. Pominville suffered a concussion.
"There's nothing I can do about that now," Hjalmarsson said. "The league gave me two games, and I just have to accept that.
"They have a tough job to say how many games I'm going to get. It's a fast game out there and you got to make decisions real fast. Sometimes it can get ugly, even if I didn't really intend to hurt him. I really hope Jason gets well as soon as possible."
The Sabres made some strong statements regarding the hit on Tuesday. Goalie Ryan Miller called it a "dumb hockey play" and had hoped the league would set a precedent by taking serious action.
"It's the league's decisions, not the other team's," Hjalmarsson said. "That's their opinion. It's only the league's opinion that matters. ... If I could turn back time, I probably would have acted different."
The NHL told Hjalmarsson to consider the situation that the opposing player is in when making a hit.
"It was too hard of a hit, I guess," Hjalmarsson said. "I should have considered him being in a vulnerable position a bit more and not hit him as hard. That's what they said."
The NHL's official announcement, which came out Wednesday before the Hawks host the Predators, said Hjalmarsson "will forfeit $37,634.40 in salary for delivering a hit from behind that caused injury to Jason Pominville of the Buffalo Sabres."
Hjalmarsson will sit out Wednesday against the Predators and Friday's game in Columbus against the Blue Jackets.
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