Braeden Bowman's elbow on Matthew Poitras demands a look from NHL Player Safety

Braeden Bowman of the Golden Knights just hit Matthew Poitras of the Bruins with an elbow to the head, and Poitras started bleeding right away.

It happened tonight at TD Garden as Vegas visits Boston. The game was in the second period with 9:37 left when this was written, so the outcome is still open.

This is one of the ugliest hits of the season. The contact was to the head, the blood was immediate, and there is no gray area in how it looks.

I can't tell you where Poitras stands physically. The injury report lists nothing on him, but that was before tonight's game, and it says nothing about what happened on the ice.

Poitras has been a bright spot for a Bruins team sitting first in the Atlantic Division. He has 4 goals and 7 points through 11 games, and he's a plus-3.

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Bowman has 6 points in 15 games for Vegas, and he came into the night with no penalty minutes this season.

The timing adds a wrinkle for the Golden Knights. They are second in the Pacific at 9-5-1 and play at Pittsburgh on Tuesday, so any discipline would land right away under head coach Ryan Craig.

Why Bowman should expect a suspension

An elbow to the head that draws blood should cost a player games. Bowman has just 12 penalty minutes over 69 career NHL games, and that clean record won't change how this looks on tape.

Vegas already lost its last game 2-5 to New Jersey, and Bowman is a minus-6 on the season. He doesn't have much cushion in the lineup right now.

For Boston, Marco Sturm's group has been winning, with a 7-2-1 mark over its last 10. Losing Poitras for any stretch would test that depth.

The league hasn't said anything yet. What matters next is whether Bowman is in the lineup when Vegas faces the Penguins on Tuesday, and whether Poitras is with the Bruins when they visit Pittsburgh on Thursday.

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