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ShanaHammer Hits Backstrom with 1 Game Suspension |
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A Matter of 6 Inches
Boy, oh boy, bet Nicklas Backstrom wishes he'd have kept his late game cross-check on Rich Peverley about 6 inches lower!
Had Washington's #1 center man been able to keep his cross-check below Peverley's face, there's a very likely chance that his actions would have resulted in, at best, a two minute minor. But instead of Backstrom simply shoving the Bruins forward at the end of Game Three, the emotions got the better of him as his over-aggression resulted in a 5 minute major and the ensuing automatic one game suspension that NHL discipline czar, Brendan Shanahan, has upheld.
A split second decision to be sure, yet undoubtedly one that came without much thought.
As a player who spent the better half of this regular season recovering from a head shot, it was tough to see the often docile Swede lay the lumber to Peverley's jaw, but that's what happens when the emotions of the NHL's second season boil over.
Sadly, now it has cost the Caps the ability to match the Bruins. Without Nicklas Backstrom in the lineup, the only Caps player with a game winning goal in this series, Game Four is going to be a bigger battle than anticipated.
Though I can't say I assumed the automatic one game suspension would be upheld, mainly because it didn't come off nearly as vicious as some of the ridiculous hits we've seen through this first round, the punishment holds true to the message the NHL is trying to send; stay away from the head.
The decision by the NHL to hold Backstrom out of Game Four is a blow, but it's also yet another challenge for them to overcome.
Chances are that Jeff Haloern will draw into the lineup while Marcus Johansson and Brooks Laich will be counted on to step up their games in the wake of Backstrom 's absence.
This will be as big a challenge mentally as it will be physically as Backstrom provides much of the offensive direction on this team. While he sits in Ovechkin's shadow most of the time, he is just as important a part of the Capitals winning formula.
What are your thoughts? Should the NHL have rescinded the one game suspension, or, given the way these playoffs have gone so far, is this more in line with addressing the head shot issue which seems to be spiraling out of control?
I will be back with more later this afternoon.
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Washington Capitals Blogger • 
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