Ovechkin receives 3rd game misconduct of season

[rbochan]

"The Washington Capitals' Alexander Ovechkin received his third game misconduct of the season on Sunday after checking Chicago Blackhawks defenceman Brian Campbell into the boards 12:16 into the first period of their nationally televised game in Chicago..." (http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/Ovechkin+receives+game+misconduct+season/2682093/story.html)

[Slim]

Suspend his Ass. He obviously isn't getting the message. I hate Ovie.

[G Wolly]

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A game misconduct wasn't necessary

[Buffalogic]

Yeah it was a ****ed up hit but not game misconduct. His reputation as a repeat offender proceeds him though. He kinda likes to play the villain I think.

[G Wolly]

It looked to me like he was following through on the play and although he did shove him, I don't think he aimed to push him down.

[TheGhostofJimKelly]

Ovechkin + Superstar = 0 suspension

[RockStar36]

He has had his moments but that hit wasn't worthy of a game misconduct nor is it worthy of a suspension at all.

[Ebenezer]

Three suspensions are covered in the NHL rule book:

23.3 Fines and Suspensions – General Category - In regular League games, any player or goalkeeper who incurs a total of three (3) game misconduct penalties in the “General Category” and exclusive of other designated categories, shall be suspended for the next League game of his team. For each subsequent game misconduct penalty, the automatic suspension shall be increased by one game.

He has to sit a game...big deal.

[DMBcrew36]

He has had his moments but that hit wasn't worthy of a game misconduct nor is it worthy of a suspension at all.

I beg to differ. It was a dangerous play. I don't think it was worth a suspension, but I think it was 'in line' to call a game misconduct. Anytime a player has his back facing you, and he is facing the boards, you back off. It isn't like Ovech just gave him a little push - Campbell is probably one of the best skaters in the league and yet Ovechkin launched into the boards. I wanted to strangle hackjob Mike Milburry in their intermission report when they tried to pass it off, saying Campbell caught a rut in the ice. What? A rut in the ice? Wow, I thought, you are dumber than I realized.

When they announced that Campbell would not return to the game, it seemed appropriate that Ovechkin was unable to play, either.

[Nighthawk]

That is 100% a dirty hit and a one of the most dangerous in the game. Anytime a player gets pushed from behind when they are going full speed and are only about 5 feet away from the boards, that is a dick*ead move! I have been hurt in a similar situation playing hockey and trust me, it's deserving of a game misconduct and then some.

[The Spaz]

It's a hit from behind so it's dirty in my book.

[rbochan]

There will be no automatic suspension.

From Puck Daddy's Blog, for reference... (http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Why-Alex-Ovechkin-won-t-receive-an-automatic-sus?urn=nhl,227840)

"...Rule 23.5 of the NHL rulebook states: "Any player or goalkeeper who incurs a total of two (2) game misconduct penalties for stick-related infractions, Boarding - Rule 42, or Checking from Behind - Rule 44, shall be suspended automatically for the next league game of his team."

Ah, but what about the fine print? Puck Daddy's Sean Leahy points to this passage further down in the Rule 23.5 statute:

When a player or goalkeeper has played in 41 consecutive regular League games without being assessed a boarding and/or a checking from behind major and a game misconduct according to Rules 42 and 44, he will have the previous game misconduct penalties removed from his current record. They will remain part of his historical record.

Sunday's game against the Blackhawks for Ovechkin? Game No. 42 since the Kaleta hit. Who knew the NHL had time off for good behavior?..."

[chernobylwraiths]

And yet Cooke gets nothing for his dirty hit. Sure a bad play, but he pushed him, he didn't drill him into the boards. I've seen a lot worse get nothing.

[jamze132]

Well since Ovechkin was involved, Campbell will probably be reprimanded by the NHL for having his head down and being too close to the boards.

[G Wolly]

It's a hit from behind so it's dirty in my book.

He kind of shoved him at the point between his side and back.

[qcsabresfan84]

While it didn't seem malicious, and I'm sure it wasn't, Ovechkin wasn't in a good position to throw a big hit and shouldn't have tried to. To make a player go down like that, even if you're not completely behind him, you would have to put the majority of the strength of your hit into the back, which is completely illegal.

I'm sure that OV's intention was to just finish the check and take a d-man out of the play in case of a good forecheck to get the puck back, but he definitely overdid it. There's a difference between playing hard and not giving a **** about other players' well being.

[qcsabresfan84]

In ironic timing, I just read an article about this and a quote by Jonathon Toews really emphasizes my point I think.

Said Hawks captain Jonathan Toews: "We're hoping for the best with Brian. There's so much of that stuff [head injuries] going on now, it's pretty frustrating the players don't take a stand against something like that and say, 'You know what, we have to respect ourselves a little bit more,' and know it's not all about the flashy hit. You have to know when there's a dangerous situation and you can really hurt somebody and be smarter about it."

[CuseJetsFan83]

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=314096

ESPN.com is reporting that Chicago Blackhawks defenceman Brian Campbell (http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/teams/players/?name=brian+campbell) may miss the remainder of the season due to a broken clavicle and ribs suffered when he was driven into the boards from behind by the Washington Capitals' superstar on Sunday.

[OpIv37]

In open ice, that hit isn't a big deal- clearly a penalty, but not necessarily dirty.

However, they were both going hard towards the end boards, and Ovechkin sent him sprawling into the boards from 5 feet away. Campbell's injuries show just how dangerous plays like that can be, and the NHL is justified in trying to prevent them.

Ovechkin needs to take his foot off the gas a little bit. He doesn't seem like a goon or the kind of guy who sets out to be dirty, but he lets his adrenaline get the best of him during games, and doesn't seem to see the difference between going hard and putting an opponent's safety at risk. He has a history of this kind of crap going back at least to when he nailed Briere into the boards about 3 years ago, and it seems to be getting worse this year.

And now the NHL has a public relations nightmare on it's hands, involving arguably the league's most popular player. This is why hockey needs goons. There is no conflict of interest when it comes to suspending Todd Bertuzzi or Shaun Avery, but it becomes a problem when the NHL needs to suspend an Ovechkin or a Crosby.

[DMBcrew36]

He kind of shoved him at the point between his side and back.

Growing up playin in the U.S. and Canada, they always teach that if you see the opposing players #, it's from behind. Ovechkin saw Campbell's number.

[G Wolly]

Growing up playin in the U.S. and Canada, they always teach that if you see the opposing players #, it's from behind. Ovechkin saw Campbell's number.

Ovechkin didn't grow up in either place. I'm not sure how they teach the game in Russia, but I get your point.

[The Spaz]

Ovechkin suspended 2 games!

[YardRat]

Ovechkin suspended 2 games!

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=521482

[DMBcrew36]

If Campbell weren't as hurt as he is, Ovechkin would've gotten NOTHING. I think he should've gotten more, considering he is a repeat offender. But, as we all know, the NHL has different sets of rules for different players.

[RockStar36]

More inconsistency from the NHL. Meanwhile, Matt Cooke is skating around laughing.