On Saturday, Islanders forward Michael Grabner caught Hurricanes forward Nathan Gerbe with an illegal check to the head. The hit occurred during the first period. Gerbe had the puck and was looking for a better shooting angle when Grabner caught him. Even though no penalty was called, the principle point of contact was the head. An area the league has a zero tolerance policy for.

Monday, the league suspended Grabner for two games without pay. He’ll forfeit $30,679.24. The Islanders’ next two games are tonight against the Canucks and Friday at the Penguins. He’ll miss both. The 26-year old Austrian is off to a good start tallying two goals and six assists. His eight points are tied with Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo for second trailing only team leader John Tavares (10).

With defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky placed on injured reserve due to a concussion suffered in Saturday’s 4-3 loss to the Canes, the club recalled rookie center Brock Nelson, who was on loan to Bridgeport. The Islanders are 3-3-2 with eight points. Despite being up and down, they rank third in the Metropolitan Division. That’s partially due to awful starts from the Devils, Rangers and Flyers. The trio are a combined 4-16-3. Only the Pens are off to a great start winning seven of their first nine. The Avalanche cooled them off behind Jean-Sebastien Giguere.

The Islanders haven’t been happy with their play. After dropping two road games at Chicago and Nashville, they’ve won only once in the last three all at Nassau Coliseum. That included a shootout loss to the Sabres. They conclude a four-game home stand against Vancouver.