Devils D Mottau suspended two games

Nov 23, 2008 - 12:20 AM TORONTO (Ticker) -- The NHL acted quickly in response to Mike Mottau's vicious hit on Frans Nielsen, handing the New Jersey Devils defenseman a two-game suspension on Saturday.

Mottau will be eligible to return to the Devils' lineup on November 29 against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Mottau, who also will forfeit $8,198.92 of his salary, delivered an open-ice check to Nielsen 3:22 into the third period of New Jersey's 5-2 victory over the New York Islanders on Friday, sending the Danish center to the locker room with multiple leg injuries. Nielsen is expected to miss eight to 12 weeks.

The 30-year-old Mottau was given a minor penalty for elbowing Nielsen before New York's Trent Hunter confronted him and instigated a fight.

A seventh-round pick of the New York Rangers in 1997, Mottau has recorded five assists and 11 penalty minutes in 19 games this season. The 6-foot, 190-pound native of Quincy, Massachusetts has collected four goals, 25 points and 72 penalty minutes in 118 career contests with the Rangers, Calgary Flames and Devils.