Sullivan Updates Acciari Status After Dillon Hit

There is no definitive word on the nature or severity of the injury Pittsburgh Penguins center Noel Acciari sustained when he absorbed a blow to the head from Winnipeg defenseman Brenden Dillon Tuesday night.

The early word from Penguins coach Mike Sullivan, though, seems encouraging.

“Obviously, our major concern is Noel,” Sullivan said after the Penguins’ 3-0 victory at PPG Paints Arena. “He’s doing OK, but he’s being evaluated right now.”

Dillon was assessed a match penalty, which carries an automatic suspension until the league office can review the incident.

Until that determination is made, it won’t be clear whether Dillon will be in uniform when the Penguins visit Winnipeg Saturday.

Sullivan did not stake out a strong position on how he believes the league should react to the play, which occurred at 4:15 of the second period.

“We’ll allow the league to go through their process, like they always do,” he said. “We can all have opinions on it, but at the end of the day, our opinions don’t really matter. Our major concern is Noel and his health, and he seems to be doing OK.”