Devils' Keefe irate by Dillon injury: He'd never do that to another player

New Jersey Devils defenseman Brenden Dillon exited Monday's game after Columbus Blue Jackets forward Dmitri Voronkov landed on him during a scuffle in the second period.

Dillon, who was slow to get up and needed help off the ice, was held out of the remainder of the contest for precautionary reasons, head coach Sheldon Keefe said postgame.

"There's no more honorable player in this league than Brenden Dillon," Keefe added. "He plays as hard and honest game as anybody in the league. He would never do something like that to another player. That I know for certain.

"Yeah, I don't like it at all. I don't think (Dillon) knows he's in a fight and then he's tackled from behind and before he knows it his helmet's off, his jersey's over his head, and we saw what happened from there. So, I don't like it at all."

Both Voronkov and Dillon were given five-minute major penalties for fighting. Adam Fantilli was also issued a slashing minor on Devils goaltender Jake Allen in the sequence.

Dillon, 35, is in his second season with the Devils. He has three goals and six assists through 26 games this year while averaging over 18 minutes of ice time entering Monday. The 15-year veteran was appearing in his 1,000th game after going undrafted.

The Blue Jackets wound up winning 5-3. The Devils held a 2-1 lead at the time of Dillon's injury.