Цитата:
The Washington Capitals did everything they could Monday night to knock Penguins defenseman Kris Letang off his game. First, there was a typically nasty facewash from Alex Ovechkin. Then, there was a slash from Daniel Winnik and a hard check from Marcus Johansson. The Capitals even appeared to try to knock Letang out of Game 3 of their Stanley Cup playoff series midway through the second period when Nicklas Backstrom leaped over him as Letang was down after checking Ovechkin and drilled him in the back of the head with his hip. Letang was slow to get up, then furious. He cursed at the Washington bench. The NHL’s Department of Player Safety surely will review and perhaps discipline Backstrom, who wasn’t penalized for his dangerous high jump.
But nothing the Capitals did slowed Letang. He had a team-high 27:57 of ice time and was terrific, as always. He set up the Penguins’ first two goals with great passes out of his defensive zone. He nearly scored a goal when he hit a post late in the second period. He had five of the Penguins’ 19 blocked shots. He was, as he often has been in these playoffs, the best player in the team’s 3-2 win.
There was just one major problem.
Letang quite likely knocked himself out of the series, at least for Game 4 Wednesday night.
It will be a surprise if Letang isn’t suspended for his high, late first-period hit on Johansson.
Letang deserves at least one game.
Ron Cook всё пишет правильно. Но это если оценивать хит Летанга с точки зрения здорового человека. А лига до сих пор рассматривала подобные эпизоды с точки зрения "курильщика". И было бы очень благородно с их стороны именно с этого эпизода поменять подход к принятию решений.
Цитата:
The hit on Johansson wasn’t nearly as late as Brooks Orpik’s vicious hit Saturday night in Game 2 on Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta, which resulted in a three-game suspension for Orpik. It also didn’t result in the same sort of damage as Orpik’s hit. Maatta didn’t play Monday night and has to be questionable for Game 4, if not longer. Johansson returned in the second period and finished the game.
That might buy Letang a few points with the NHL office. You know how it works at playoff time. If a player isn’t left for dead on the ice, it generally hesitates to punish any offender. Capitals coach Barry Trotz probably should have ordered Johansson to stay in the team’s dark room for the rest of the game.
But that might not matter in this case. In light of the furor caused by the Orpik suspension and the whining afterward by Trotz, who ridiculously insinuated the NHL goes overboard to protect the Penguins? In light of how Letang avoided punishment for his two-handed slash to the face of the New York Rangers’ Viktor Stalberg in Game 3 of that first-round series? The league office isn’t expected to look kindly at him. He will have no room to complain if he gets a game. His hit was unnecessary.
То есть, Летангу могут выписать один матч в серии с Вашингтоном, потому что не наказали его за удар клюшкой в серии с Рейнджерс? Но тот эпизод рассматривался, и даже игроки Рейнджерс не имели претензий. Сам пострадавший сказал, что это был игровой эпизод, и его единственная претензия (вполне справедливая) была в том, что Летанг не извинился. Тут Кук немного переборщил в попытке быть объективным, имхо. А реагировать на нытьё отары - это уже просто ниже плинтуса. Надеюсь, до этого лига всё же не опустится. Очевидно же, что они готовы на всё, чтобы только вывести Летанга из серии, от откровенного "убийства" до выплакивания дисквалификации для него.
