Wednesday 15 November 2017

Suspensions? Probably.

On a quiet evening in Detroit, Michigan, a group of Calgarians came calling on the local hockey team called the "Red Wings" for a friendly game of ice hockey. The two teams traded chances on the local frozen sheet of ice where the team clad in red-and-white thrilled fans with an eight-goal performance while only allowing a pair of goals past its formidable goalkeeper in Jimmy Howard. Yes, everyone had a merry Wednesday evening that included a number of hugs and high-fives as shown above.

Wait, hold on. I'm being told that's not what happened. In fact, it's not even close to the truth.

I'll let Sportsnet's Dave Randorf and Garry Galley walk you through all the fun had at Little Caesars Arena last night.
So if you're the Department of Player Safety tomorrow, where do you start in this melee?

Luke Witkowski will most likely get the biggest suspension after he was escorted off the ice only to return to the ice and try to engage in a second fight. Once assessed a game misconduct as it appears he was, Witkowski is required to exit the ice surface. Returning is a major no-no.

I don't know if Anthony Mantha will get one, but throwing punches while Hamonic is down on his back through the gate is also going to be frowned upon by the Department of Player Safety. Hamonic is vulnerable to a number of injuries in that position, and it would have been wiser for Mantha to simply let him go.

It also appears that Micheal Ferland participated in this skirmish while still on the bench. That's also a major no-no in the NHL rulebook, so I'd expect him to have some time off as well.

It's not an easy job to be George Parros in this situation, but I'd rather see him err on the side of "Don't Do That Again" than to be lenient in this case. We'll await the results on Thursday or Friday from the Department of Player Safety, but expect a few players to be lighter in the wallet and possible have some time off for their actions.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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