Timo Meier Ejected Following Controversial On-Ice incident, Faces Potential Suspension

On Saturday night, a Metropolitan Division matchup between the New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes got a bit ugly when Devils forward Timo Meier laid in a dirty knee on knee hit to Hurricanes star forward Martin Necas.

Meier was ejected from the game and luckily for Carolina, Necas avoided any serious injury and was back on the ice. It was a nasty hit that although didn't seem malicious, still led the referees to kick him out.

Unfortunately for Meier, his ejection may not be the only punishment he receives as as there is no doubt the Department of Player Safety is going to take a long look and determine whether more discipline is warranted.

It's not that the NHL is filled with malicious and vicious players, although there certainly are a few less than desirable tactics that some players use in order to gain an upper hand.

It's more the fact that the league is very inconsistent when it comes to dishing out punishment and their rules tend to be dependent on who is in the office that day. Toronto's Ryan Reaves received five games for a headshot but Zach Whitecloud didn't get even a penalty for the same thing.

Jacob Trouba leveled Justin Barron early on into the season and got nothing but a slap on the wrist, but the league will suspend Matt Rempe eight games (rightly so). The inconsistency with how they determine what a headshot or dirty hit is, but not follow through on their own criteria is frustrating for fans.

The NHL will have until 5pm on Sunday to make their decision regarding further punishment for Meier, though his one saving grace is that Necas was not hurt and didn't need to leave the game.

Carolina ended up victorious regardless, securing the 5-2 victory. Necas didn't record a point as the Hurricanes improved to 22-13-1 and sit third in the Metropolitan Division behind the Devils and Washington Capitals.