Thursday, 5 April 2012

Wild defenceman Prosser ejected for headbutt on Blackhawks’ Mayers; how many games?

Back in December, the Chicago Blackhawks released a video of Blackhawk-themed Christmas carols, one of which was Deck Jamal and You'll Be Sorry. This is especially true if done via headbutt, a lesson Minnesota Wild defenceman Nate Prosser will no doubt learn soon.

With just over a minute to go in the second period, Blackhawks' forward Jamal Mayers fired a shot on Josh Harding, then drove to the goalmouth. After Harding froze the puck, a scrum developed at the side of the goal, and Prosser went helmet to face on Mayers.

Mayers had opened the scoring earlier in the frame, and Prosser was partly to blame for the goal, losing his check. Was this frustration boiling over?

Either way, the headbutt cost Prosser a 5 minute major and a game misconduct, and according to Mike Russo, it may have cost Mayers some teeth.

It seems an outright certainty that this will see a lengthy suspension. Back in November, Patrick Kaleta received a 4-game suspension for a headbutt on Jakub Voracek of the Philaldelphia Flyers. This one's a little more egregious, but Prosser doesn't have the history of headbutting that Kaleta had. Let's set 4.5 games as the over/under here. What do you think?

One thing is for sure: With only one game remaining in the Wild's season after Thursday night, Prosser will likely be serving this suspension into 2012-13. After all, considering the current climate of the NHL, the headbutt has to be about the stupidest thing you can do right now. It's not just a headshot -- it's two headshots.

Follow Harrison Mooney on Twitter  at @HarrisonMooney



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