Friday 16 March 2012

Possible Shanaban coming for Mark Stuart? ; Winnipeg fans chant ‘Crosby’s better’ at Ovechkin (VIDEO)

As the NHL week comes to an end, it was looking like Tyler Myers' 3-game suspension was going to be the only news on the supplemental discipline front until late Friday when a $2,500 fine was given to Phoenix Coyotes captain Shane Doan for a boarding violation and Jeff Skinner of the Carolina Hurricanes was banned for his next two games after kicking Scott Nichol of the St. Louis Blues.

Winnipeg Jets defenseman Mark Stuart might have earned himself a hearing on Saturday when he delivered this late, high hit on Marcus Johansson of the Washington Capitals.

There was no call on the play and as Steve Whyno of the Washington Times reports, Johansson didn't miss a shift immediately afterwards, but wasn't around for the start of the second period before returning for the rest of the game.

As the video shows, the puck is long gone and Stuart is locked in on Johansson even before the Capitals forward chips the puck up the boards the other way. You'd liked to see a closer angle to examine whether or not Stuart clearly tagged Johansson in the head or just the upper-body, but initially, it looks pretty bad for Stuart.

Brooks Laich was upset with the hit and non-call after the game telling Tarik el-Bashir of the Washington Post:

"It's alright, we got them again in a week. Hockey players have long memories. We'll see them soon. Apparently Mark Stuart can hit guys in the head. He did it to Brouwer. He did it to Marcus. I'm not an official."

While it's been very clear all season that Jets fans inside MTS Centre can get very loud, they're also creative when it comes to the singsong chants. Earlier this month they tried taking Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller off of his game by chanting "Silver Medal!" in the final minutes of a Jets win.

Friday night, in an intense Southeast Division clash, the crowd once again tried to get inside the head of a visiting star by chanting "Crosby's Better!" at Alex Ovechkin in the third period:

The chants didn't bother Ovi one bit. He actually enjoyed it as he told Whyno afterward:

"It's always nice when they talk about you and then get the chants. I love it. It's great for the league, it's great for us."

The Jets would hang on for a 3-2 win to move to within two points of the Capitals for eighth in the Eastern Conference. Ovechkin would finish with five shots and zero points.

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy



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