NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The NHL on Thursday suspended star Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty for an elbow to the head of Vegas Golden Knights forward William Carrier in a playoff game the night before. In Game 1 of the Avalanche’s series with the Nashville Predators Thursday night, first-line center Ryan Johansen laid an identical-looking hit on the Avs’ Tyson Barrie.
Will the NHL suspend Johansen now?
We’ll likely find out Friday.
Unlike on the Doughty hit on Carrier, which earned him a one-game suspension, there was no penalty called on Johansen. Here’s the hit:
Another angle of the hit on Barriehttps://t.co/1uWrBJ7i2a
— Nathan Rudolph (@AvalancheReview) April 13, 2018
Here’s the hit by Doughty on Carrier. Can anyone point out the differences between the two?
William Carrier Injured On Hit Delivered By Drew Doughty. Legal Hit? https://t.co/Kk9t5FqWzf
— SabresBuzz (@SabresBuzz) April 12, 2018
The hit came just after Barrie took a shot from the right circle, a good scoring chance. Johansen clearly hits Barrie in the head with an elbow. Barrie went down and was slow going to the bench. He did return to the game soon after, however. Could the fact Barrie might have escaped serious injury (though concussions can be delayed in producing symptoms) deter the NHL’s Department of Player Safety from suspending one of Nashville’s most important players?
With the DoPS, you never know. But it figures to be a hot topic of conversation among Avs fans, players and coaches in the next day or so.
Since I can have opinions at times, I think it should definitely be a suspension. It was a dangerous hit to the head. Just because Barrie played on doesn’t negate what Johansen did. And, the Avs should have gotten a minimum, two-minute minor out of it. If the league suspended Doughty for that hit on Carrier, it should punish Johansen for doing the exact same thing.
Barrie apparently hadn’t seen the replay of the hit on him, when asked about it after the game by BSN Denver. But here’s what he had to say:
“Yeah, it hurt. It hurt, for sure. But that’s up to the league and I’m sure they’ll make the right call, whatever that is,” Barrie said.
Here’s what Jared Bednar had to say about it:
“Yeah, I saw the hit. Yeah, it looks like he got some of his head there, coming across, for sure,” Bednar said. “It’s a good thing he was OK and could continue playing.”
0 Comments (6 conversations)
Colorado_Gary
DOPS suspension flowchart
1. Was the victim wearing an Avalanche sweater?
a. Look the other way
2. Wait a minute, did you say the victim was an Avalanche?
b. Suspend Barrie for a flagrant head-to-elbow hit! Johansen’s elbow must really hurt!
3. Hmm, have to enforce Avalanche clause 303-BS: add 2 games!
bjjones05
My feelings exactly. It truly does seem that if the Avs are involved:
a: The call should always go against the Avs
b: If the play is similar to something else out there, we have an excuse for not making the call if it would benefit the Avs.
While the DoPS gets most of the calls right, thede have been blatant calls / non-calls this season where I question their integrity.
DallasVerity
Absolutely right Dater. What do your cohosts think?
Heavy Metal Avs Fan
I agree with you AD. I won’t hold my breath that it will actually happen though. I’ll believe a suspension when I see it.
Spartan
I truly love playoff hockey and the physical intensity of it. It’s like a physical gauntlet that the teams put each other through, may the best team win. But I also truly believe in the playoffs there are too many dirty tactics or careless plays that go unpunished. Too many times an opposing player takes it too far, whether with intent to injure or not. If the DoPS keeps letting stuff like this go, players are going to keep getting injured. It’s wrong on so many levels, from sportsmanship to sometimes borderline criminal. This player NEEDS to be suspended, and all future acts from either team need to as well. Dangerous is dangerous. If you’re playing so hard you hurt someone on accident with a dangerous play, you need to reel it back just a little and find that balance. Just. A. Little. And if you’re wanting to win so bad that you go for the knee on knee hit to flip a series (I won’t say any names, but it rhymes with book), you don’t belong in this league. DoPS, do the right thing for once. Protect the players and game that you claim to stand for!
Chris DeMott
So, as predicted above, nothing happened. All I could add to differentiate the two is that it is much easier to conceal an elbow than a shoulder and the elbow is tucked enough to add reasonable doubt. Also, Barrie is moving into Johansson whereas Doughty has to skate further to his target who is moving perpendicular to him. That said, if I’m Landy, there’s going to be a bounty.
scott.hartrich
As soon as I saw the play last night… I thought it not only deserved a 2 minute penalty but a review for a possible suspension. If he meant to deliver a legal hit he would have gone though him. He instead lead with his elbow towards the head and moved out of the way. I love playoff hockey but I also hate they swallow the whistles and quit calling the penalties they have enforced most of the season. At times the stick work and cheap shots after the whistle are way to much