Los Angeles Kings’ Arthur Kaliyev suspended two preseason and two regular-season games for kneeing

The incident occurred early in the second period of Tuesday’s game between the Kings and Ducks. Kaliyev, 22, went for a hit on De Leo and as De Leo moved to avoid the hit, he readjusted and clipped the knee of De Leo. Kaliyev received a two-minute minor penalty for the infraction, one of two penalties he was called for in the game, while De Leo did not return to the game after the hit.

Kaliyev has never been suspended in his short NHL career so far, but he did receive a fine at the end of the 2021-22 season, also in a game against the Ducks, for cross-checking defenseman Josh Mahura. The Department of Player Safety cited that the lack of a relevant history and the intentional readjustment to create the collision was the reason for the length of Kaliyev’s suspension.

Kaliyev will the Kings’ final two preseason games against the San Jose Sharks and the Vegas Golden Knights, and will miss the first two games of the regular season against the Colorado Avalanche and the Carolina Hurricanes. He will return to the lineup on Oct. 17 for the Kings’ first road game of the season against the Winnipeg Jets.

Kaliyev is coming off a season that saw him set a new career high in points with 13 goals, 15 assists and 28 points, despite only playing 56 games. He was also held pointless in two playoff games as the Kings were eliminated in the first round by the Edmonton Oilers. He finishes the preseason playing just the one game against the Ducks, where he got a lone secondary assist on Kevin Fiala’s opening goal as the Kings won the game 4-1.