(Photo credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images)

Calgary Flames forward Connor Zary was suspended for two games by the NHL Department of Player Safety on Thursday, one day after his hit on Vancouver Canucks rookie defenseman Elias Pettersson.

The discipline was handed down not long after it was announced that Zary would have a hearing with the department.

Pettersson leveled Nazem Kadri with an open-ice hit when Zary took up for his teammate. Zary unleashed a cross-check to the head of Pettersson, who did not have possession of the puck. His arm and elbow made contact with Pettersson's head.

Zary received a two-minute minor penalty for interference.

Pettersson, 21, logged one more shift in the first period but did not return for the second in Vancouver's 4-3 shootout victory over Calgary on Wednesday.

'On this play, Zary sees a teammate takes a hard but legal check, and responds intentionally in retribution by delivering a hit with his extended elbow that makes significant head contact and is delivered with requisite force for supplemental discipline,' a Department of Player Safety official said in an explanation video.

Zary had never been fined or suspended in his NHL career. Now, he'll have to sit out Friday's home game against the Colorado Avalanche and Monday's road game at the Toronto Maple Leafs. He will be eligible to return on Tuesday at the New York Rangers.

Zary, 23, has 24 points (12 goals, 12 assists) and 14 penalty minutes in 49 games this season.

He has 58 points (26 goals, 32 assists) and 36 penalty minutes in 112 career games since being selected by the Flames with the 24th overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft.

--Field Level Media