Figure it out Department of Player Safety. This inconsistency is very frustrating.
They suspended Drew Doughty one game for this hit.
The rationale for this suspension was that the hit was high and the head was the primary point of contact. Doughty takes a poor route for this hit as the puck carrier does not change his body position. Looking at the box score Doughty was not given a penalty on the play.
Nazem Kadri received a three game suspension for this him on Tommy Wingels.
This was also a head shot, the player is down but he doesn’t move as Kadri is approaching him. Kadri received a major penalty for that play and also has a history. Kadri has been suspended three times in his NHL career.
The Anderson hit is different from those two as the head is not the primary point of contact. Michael Kempny turns at the last moment taking the hit from what should have been shoulder to shoulder to shoulder to back.
Anderson by virtue of being kicked out of the game, essentially already had a suspension as he missed the majority of Game One.
With that president already set it’s shocking that Tom Wilson didn’t even get a hearing let alone didn’t get a suspension.
This is a blindside hit. Alexander Wennberg is focused on the playing the puck and keeping his eyes on Alexander Ovechkin. Wilson comes in fast, and while the first point of contact is the shoulder, he gets a lot of Wennberg’s head. Wennberg doesn’t change his position much; Wilson could have easily let up and hit Wennberg through the body. Wilson was given a two minute charging penalty on the play and also has a history, having been fined twice and suspended twice in his NHL career.
I’m obviously biased on this situation but I think a one game suspension would have been justified here. At the very least Wilson should have received a hearing. The league wants to eliminate cheap shots and hits to the head. What’s Wennberg supposed to do in that situation? He has to play the puck and has to focus on Ovechkin, the player in front of him.
For the Jackets you just have to hope that this doesn’t come back to bite them. Wennberg is doubtful for Game Two, as is Kempny. You just have to hope Wilson doesn’t have an impact on Game Two.
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