Pierre-Marc Bouchard suspended two games for nasty high-sticking [VIDEO]

Pierre-Marc Brouchard has good stick control, bad impulse control.

​The Minnesota Wild's season got off to a mixed start on Saturday. On one hand, the Wild beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2, with a goal apiece for the Wild's new forwards Devin Setoguchi and Dany Heatley.

On the other hand, Pierre-Marc Bouchard showed a pretty ugly side to his game when he slapped Matt Calvert in the face... using the blade of his stick.

The smack left Calvert bloodied, and earned Bouchard a double-minor penalty at the time.

Yesterday, the NHL took a second look at the high-sticking and decided it wasn't just clumsy, it was malicious. Bouchard, who also notched two assists in Saturday's win, was suspended for the next two games for his ugly misconduct.

The lead-up to the high-sticking was pretty typical, with Bouchard and Calvert jostling for space before a second-period puck drop. Calvert put his shoulder into Brouchard, shoving him back a bit.

Bouchard, finding himself with his stick at waist level, took the coward's way out and jabbed it into Calvert's face.

Calvert immediately hit the deck, and when he got up was bleeding out of his mouth. (Notice the nice moment in the clip when Calvert turns around so the ref can get a good look at the damage.)

Bouchard's unpaid suspension, as announced by the NHL, means he'll miss a short road swing, with the Wild visiting the Islanders tonight and the Senators tomorrow. Bouchard will be suited up again on Thursday for the Wild's game against the Edmonton Oilers.

Hopefully by then, someone will remind Bouchard that he's probably more useful to the team when he keeps his stick on the ice.