Sharks' Joe Thornton Suspended 1 Game for Checking Tomas Nosek in the Head

The NHL suspended San Jose Sharks center Joe Thornton for a check on Vegas Golden Knights forward Tomas Nosek during San Jose's 6-3 defeat in Sunday's Game 3. 

During the second period, Thornton leaned his left shoulder into Nosek's head. In the video explaining Thornton's suspension, the NHL Department of Player Safety said Nosek's head was the "main point of contact" and that the Sharks star could've avoided the hit.

"I honestly thought I barely touched him," Thornton said of the hit, per the Mercury News' Curtis Pashelka. "He just came right back; it was just one of those plays that it is what it is. I think my son hits me like that six times a day, it's just a weird position to put himself in. That's all."

Thornton received a two-minute minor for an illegal check. Nosek left the game and returned a little over a minute into the third period.

Some thought Thornton got off a bit easy with his in-game punishment.

Speaking to reporters, Golden Knights forward Ryan Reaves called the hit "gutless" and unloaded with a verbal dig on the 39-year-old Thornton.

"I got a buddy with a grandpa who's going through the same thing," Reaves said, per Jesse Granger of The Athletic. "Can't really see very well cuz he's getting old. Get some glasses. If he gets suspended it'll be hard for him to see up top."

Thornton has registered one point in each of the Sharks' three games against the Golden Knights so far. Head coach Peter DeBoer will have to account for his absence when San Jose returns to the ice for Tuesday's Game 4 in Las Vegas.