Rangers' Brendan Lemieux suspended two games for high hit in March

On Monday, the NHL confirmed that New York Rangers forward Brendan Lemieux is suspended for the first two games of the league's August resumption for a high check Lemieux delivered on Colorado Avalanche forward Joonas Donskoi during a game played back on March 11.

The league halted play the following day due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"The Department of Player Safety initially held a hearing with Lemieux on Friday, March 13, but waited for the Return to Play guidelines to be established before making its decision on the incident," the Department explained in its official statement.

Lemieux can play in New York's July 29 exhibition game versus the New York Islanders before he serves the ban that will sideline him for the first two contests of the best-of-five series versus the Carolina Hurricanes.

Lemieux's blow injured Donskoi, but Donskoi didn't miss any games due to the league temporarily shutting down. Donskoi is currently training with the Avalanche as the club prepares to travel to the Edmonton hub site.