Games and Shanabans!
Let's start with Shanabans. It's a little late but 2 hearings yesterday for Alex Ovechkin's blatant hit to the head of Zbynek Michalek that wasn't penalized during the game on Sunday and Michalek's retaliatory elbow to the head of Matt Hendricks in the same game. Michalek ended up with no fine or supplemental discipline because "It's believed that no suspension or fine because Michalek's knee buckled when hitting Hendricks' butt, contributing to his losing his balance and lunging forward." Even Michalek admitted that it wasn't a good hit and agreed with the 2-minute elbowing minor.
But then comes the weird bit. Ovechkin's been suspended 3 games for his...leaving the feet and targeting Michalek's head. I have to say that it's a gutsy move to suspend the league's biggest star. Sure, Ovechkin probably deserved the suspension (hey, you target someone's head in the hit, you'll hear about it) but then again, shouldn't Michalek at least get a fine? I'm not disagreeing with the Ovechkin suspension but I just wonder if it makes much sense if Michalek gets away with essentially a slap on the wrist. Or are they taking into account the fact that Michalek owned up to his mistake and admitted that it probably wasn't a good idea but Ovechkin didn't? I have no idea what's going on with NHL supplemental discipline anymore.
Okay, now that we have the confusing stuff out of the way, let's get to the actual games being played!
Because we're coming up to the All-Star Weekend, lots of games on today and only 1 tomorrow (Detroit vs. Montreal). I wish I had the time to go through each and every one of the games but seriously, I need sleep. I'll just cover the ones that have some impact on the Penguins.
- BUF vs. NJD: while there's no direct impact on the Penguins' current place in the standings, New Jersey losing would give the Penguins a little more breathing room in 6th because the Devils currently trail the Penguins by 4 points. However, the Devils would automatically win the tiebreaker, so...yeah, them losing would be beneficial to the Penguins and the Sabres, who are now LAST in the East as they complete what can only be called the worst road trip in franchise history. Buffalo is looking of something, ANYTHING, to get them going at this point and they'll take a win any way they can.
- PIT vs. STL: a HUGE game for St. Louis because they just lost to Detroit in Detroit, coughing up even more of the race for top spot in the West and the Central division, so they'll definitely be motivated to win just to pull a little closer back to 1st in the standings. On the other hand, Pittsburgh will be looking to win to move up in the standings (possibly). With a Pittsburgh win, they move into a tie (temporarily) with Ottawa for 5th and because Pittsburgh has played less games than Ottawa, they would actually move into 5th IF the Senators don't win their game.
- OTT vs. PHX: as stated above, this game will help determine where the Penguins will be going into the All-Star break. A loss by the Senators would have the Penguins in 5th by winning a tiebreak while a win by the Senators would automatically keep the Penguins in 6th regardless of the outcome of their game.
It's late, I need sleep. I hope this made sense.
But then comes the weird bit. Ovechkin's been suspended 3 games for his...leaving the feet and targeting Michalek's head. I have to say that it's a gutsy move to suspend the league's biggest star. Sure, Ovechkin probably deserved the suspension (hey, you target someone's head in the hit, you'll hear about it) but then again, shouldn't Michalek at least get a fine? I'm not disagreeing with the Ovechkin suspension but I just wonder if it makes much sense if Michalek gets away with essentially a slap on the wrist. Or are they taking into account the fact that Michalek owned up to his mistake and admitted that it probably wasn't a good idea but Ovechkin didn't? I have no idea what's going on with NHL supplemental discipline anymore.
Okay, now that we have the confusing stuff out of the way, let's get to the actual games being played!
Because we're coming up to the All-Star Weekend, lots of games on today and only 1 tomorrow (Detroit vs. Montreal). I wish I had the time to go through each and every one of the games but seriously, I need sleep. I'll just cover the ones that have some impact on the Penguins.
- BUF vs. NJD: while there's no direct impact on the Penguins' current place in the standings, New Jersey losing would give the Penguins a little more breathing room in 6th because the Devils currently trail the Penguins by 4 points. However, the Devils would automatically win the tiebreaker, so...yeah, them losing would be beneficial to the Penguins and the Sabres, who are now LAST in the East as they complete what can only be called the worst road trip in franchise history. Buffalo is looking of something, ANYTHING, to get them going at this point and they'll take a win any way they can.
- PIT vs. STL: a HUGE game for St. Louis because they just lost to Detroit in Detroit, coughing up even more of the race for top spot in the West and the Central division, so they'll definitely be motivated to win just to pull a little closer back to 1st in the standings. On the other hand, Pittsburgh will be looking to win to move up in the standings (possibly). With a Pittsburgh win, they move into a tie (temporarily) with Ottawa for 5th and because Pittsburgh has played less games than Ottawa, they would actually move into 5th IF the Senators don't win their game.
- OTT vs. PHX: as stated above, this game will help determine where the Penguins will be going into the All-Star break. A loss by the Senators would have the Penguins in 5th by winning a tiebreak while a win by the Senators would automatically keep the Penguins in 6th regardless of the outcome of their game.
It's late, I need sleep. I hope this made sense.