Arron Asham Suspended 4 Games For Attacking Brayden Schenn

Arron Asham of the Pittsburgh Penguins has been suspended four games for cross-checking and punching Brayden Schenn of the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday afternoon during Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

The NHL announced the suspension late Tuesday, and Asham will only be eligible to return to the lineup if the Penguins are able to win four straight games and advance to the Conference Semifinals.

The league's Department of Player Safety took into consideration that Asham has no history of supplemental discipline and that Schenn was uninjured on the play. This incident seems mighty similar, both in terms of intent and injury outcome, to the one between Matt Carkner and Brian Boyle in Game 2 of the Ottawa Senators and New York Rangers series, yet Carkner was only suspended one game for that incident.

Asham is the third Penguin to be suspended for incidents in Sunday's game. Craig Adams was suspended one game for instigating a fight in the final five minutes of the match, while James Neal was suspended one game for his hits on Sean Couturier and Claude Giroux.