Suspension served, Yanni Gourde returns to Kraken’s lineup

Yanni Gourde is a free man.

Gourde returned to the Kraken lineup Friday night against the St. Louis Blues after serving a two-game league suspension, the second of his 510-game NHL career, for charging Edmonton Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm on Jan. 18. After officials broke up the ensuing scrum, Gourde was assessed a five-minute major penalty.

It was a high hit, Gourde said Friday.

“They made a decision. That’s what it is,” Gourde said. “I’m ready to get out there and play hockey.

“This is in the past. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I’m ready to go and move forward.”

Third-line center Gourde worked long and hard in practice during the suspension, throwing perhaps a little extra oomph into his preparation for the weekend.

“It’ll be a rested version (of Gourde),” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. “Yanni works pretty hard at his game.”

There was some debate surrounding the game action before the illegal hit, directly off the faceoff of the same shift. Oilers center and three-time league MVP Connor McDavid delivered a cross-check to Gourde, knocking Gourde to the ice. Play could have been whistled dead in honor of McDavid’s third minor penalty of the game, but it wasn’t called. The players reconnected and shoved each other afterward.

Gourde left his feet to make contact with Ekholm behind the Edmonton net.

“I didn’t love the hit,” Ekholm told reporters after the Oilers won 4-2. “I don’t think you should ever jump into a hit. I think he jumped right at my face.”

Gourde forfeited $53,819.44, which went to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund. He missed the Kraken’s 3-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs and Wednesday’s 6-2 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks. Alex Wennberg was inserted into Gourde’s spot between Eeli Tolvanen and Oliver Bjorkstrand at the start of the Maple Leafs game, and Kailer Yamamoto tried playing between them for the Chicago tilt.

Gourde, 32, has seven goals and 12 assists in 45 games this season. He had an assist on Jared McCann’s first-period goal in that same tilt against Edmonton.

After a brief gap between games, he wanted to keep the expectations reasonable — get his legs and hands back up to speed against St. Louis, then business as usual.

“Bring some energy, bring some passion. What I do,” he said.

He also brought his tricks. Gourde was in Friday’s starting lineup and sent Blues defenseman Marco Scandella spinning to the ice with a quick change of direction at the offensive blue line during the first period.

Kraken getting healthy

Fourth-line center and penalty killer Pierre-Edouard Bellemare rejoined the Kraken for Friday’s optional morning skate for the first time since breaking a bone in his leg while blocking a shot Dec. 18 against the Dallas Stars. The veteran, who signed last summer, was expected to miss six to eight weeks.

The Kraken dealt with a rash of injuries at center, combined with Gourde’s suspension, the past few weeks by moving wingers to the middle, with mixed results. Matty Beniers returned from an upper-body injury in time for the St. Louis game, so once Bellemare is ready to go, the Kraken will be at full health.

The next step will be a full team practice, though there are few opportunities for that before the All-Star break begins Jan. 31.

“He’s getting real close to that point,” Hakstol said. “He’s done a lot of work on his own. He’s been on the ice a lot.”