Saturday, 5 May 2012

Alex Ovechkin’s controversial charging hit vs. Dan Girardi of Rangers (VIDEO)

Alex Ovechkin has a reputation for occasionally leaving his skates on hit. In the second period of Game 4 between the Washington Capitals and the New York Rangers on Saturday, he left them again to earn a charging minor for this hit on Dan Girardi:

This hit stirred up some debate about potential supplemental discipline on Ovechkin, who would be a repeat offender. Mike Milbury on NBC wanted a fine. Rangers analyst Dave Maloney (via Chris Botta) said this hit had "twice the severity" of the one that earned Rusty Klesla a hearing with the NHL on Sunday. Fans around social media openly wondered if this was actionable by the NHL.

I don't see it: Sure, it's a leap, which is why it was a charge; but it seemed shoulder-to-shoulder. The Department of Player Safety will take a look, but without contact with the head it's hard to imagine anything comes down on Ovechkin. Unless, if course, they view this as a reoccurring problem that needs correcting; ask Raffi Torres about that.



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