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theoneandonly wrote:*should have*

It was unnecessary but it wasn't as reckless as the Orpik hit. One game is deserved. If this happens in game 35 of the season I'd say it's 50/50 shot it's a suspend-able hit.  This series has been played on the line and this is another feeble attempt by the NHL to calm things down a bit. The DoPS has to try and even things out due to lackluster officiating. Fun stuff. 

I agree, one game.  Wasn't that bad a hit. 6/10ths of a second isn't much time to make a decision. Hockey IS a contact sport and I've seen many much harder hits. I think 1 game is fair. 

As a hockey fan, I don't like this suspension. It opens up a can of worms that I don't think is a direction the league wants to go. Here are some reasons why:

-less than 2/3s of a second after the puck left the stick. I bet we see 25 hits tonight more than a second after the puck leaves the player.

-no one has mentioned this but it was during an offensive zone rush. The hit was actually part of a "scoring attempt." Yes, it was a 1 on 4 but if someone doesn't step up and force Johansson to move the puck then he has a great chance of getting a decent chance through to Murray.  This wasn't like the Orpik or the Wilson hit where the hit was made on a player with no chance of generating a scoring chance.

-the point of contact was with Letang's shoulder and very, very close to the chest/neck/head region. It wasn't a obvious attempt to seek out the head. Yes, the head was contacted with but if just any contact to the head now warrants suspensions then we will have several AHL players in the lineup each night.

-the most ridiculous part of the entire argument for a suspension is that Letang's skates left the ice AFTER the hit. Please study physics. Watch the game tonight and once again you will see 25 hits where the skates leave the ice AFTER contact. 

So the question I'm gonna ask now is after game 4 how many more potential suspensions will we be discussing? If a Malkin or Oveckin clobber someone in the corners boards 1.8 seconds after the puck is released does the DoPS suspend one of the leagues superstar forwards for game 5 of this playoff series?

If the criteria for a suspendable hit is now truly .6 secs, skates leave the ice after contact, and any contact with the chin or neck area then we should all be prepared to see Hershey Bears vs WBS Baby Pens by game 6 or 7.

In my honest opinion, the league was looking to even this up after coming down hard on Orpik.

Now, as a Penguins fan I am actually kinda happy about the suspension. This will mitigate the chances of Letang being targeted (more than he already has been) and knocked out long term. This also puts the ball back in the Capitals court. Can they play with the physicality they did in games 1-3 now knowing that suspensions are looming after every minor penalty or big hit?  Does this make game 4 a "must win" for the Capitals? Maybe.

You can take someones helmet off and punch them in the face if you want.....or get hit in the chin with the puck....

The series is now 3-1! Finish this out!

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Highlight of the night

should have been 2 penalties on Caps

The pens cant let this series get to 6 or 7. Its a physical, emotional series. If they dont seal it in 5 they are risking an injury to players in the line up.


I think neuvirth tilted the caps in the first round. Even though they made it out only scoring 2 goals in 3 games changed their gameplay a lot.

Maybe he should focus on those games against the cubs...

He was letting his frustrations out. Might help for his next outing