Chicago Blackhawks forward Frank Nazar is serving a two-game suspension — and forfeiting more than $68,000 in pay — after the NHL's Department of Player Safety ruled he delivered an illegal check to the head of New York Islanders captain Bo Horvat.

The hit came late in the third period of the Islanders' 4-1 win over Chicago on Thursday, Oct. 8, at 18:25 of the frame, as Horvat skated toward a long-range empty-net goal attempt. Nazar was given a match penalty on the play. Following a phone hearing with the league the next day, the NHL announced the two-game ban, which cost Nazar $68,041.14 in forfeited salary, according to the league's official Player Safety announcement.

Nazar sat out Chicago's game against Carolina on Saturday and serves the back half of the suspension tonight against Pittsburgh. The second-year forward is considered part of the core of Chicago's ongoing rebuild, and the ban is a notable early-season blemish for a player the Blackhawks are counting on for a bigger offensive role this year.

Horvat, the Islanders' captain, was evaluated for injury immediately after the hit. The Hockey News reported he was still being assessed the following morning; his status in the days since has not been independently confirmed.

Head-contact suspensions have become a routine, if closely watched, part of the NHL's Department of Player Safety process in recent seasons, with the league publishing a short video explanation and exact forfeited-salary figure for nearly every supplemental discipline case. Chicago has not publicly commented beyond confirming it will not appeal the ruling.

For the Islanders, the incident added an unwelcome subplot to an otherwise solid start under Horvat, who has anchored the team's forward lines since arriving via trade in 2023. The club has not released additional details on his evaluation beyond confirming he finished the game in question.

Chicago will have Nazar back in the lineup once tonight's game against Pittsburgh — the final game of his suspension — is complete.