78LikesTwo games in a row the Hawks tie it with Crawford pulled and under 15 seconds left.
Let's see how the OT goes. . .
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Aucoin tries a wraparound out of the zone and... game over...
Blackhawks' Shaw suspended three games - Coyotes v Blackhawks - 2012 Stanley Cup Conference Quarterfinals
Shaw suspended 3 games for his hit on Mike Smith. I thought he would get one or two, but I'm very pleased with 3 games. Shaw hit a defenseless player in the head/jaw, and the player happened to be a goaltender that should be off limits to all hits.
You can argue that Smith stayed down too long, or that the league should change the rule to allow goalies to be fair game if they venture outside the crease (which I agree with, BTW), but you cant argue that Shaw hit him in the head and made zero effort to try to avoid the collision. A suspension was warranted.
And for those who think Smith was diving, he has missed the last two days of practice, so something is wrong with him. He is expected to play tonight, which tells me that Tippett believes that an injured/concussed Mike Smith is a better option than a 100% healthy JBL.
At most should have been 1 game. I really hate the fact that if a player never picks his head up to see what is coming, he is labeled "defenseless." In the current rules system, there is too much responsibility on hitter. I agree that Shaw made no attempt to avoid contact, but even if he had, I'm pretty sure contact would have still been made. Smith had his head down, blocking the path behind the net. I may be wrong, but Smith looks like he embellishes the hit after contact and in leading up to Shaw getting thrown out. If I'm not mistaken, a player with a concussion is not allowed to play until they are symptom free for 48 hours, so the only way Smith plays is if he was not diagnosed.Originally Posted by Wile E.
I agree, on your Shaw comment. He was gonna hit him either way, difference is if he had made an attempt to avoid Smith, we'd be talking about a 2 minute minor penalty rather than a suspension.
I think your correct on the concussion rule as well. And I have to question the Coyotes training staff, if they are hiding a concussion. If Smith needed to be down for that long, he should've been taken out of the game and checked out IMO. Tippett gave no reasoning as to why he kept Smith out of practice. So Im guessing that if the training staff doesn't officially call it a concussion and gives the old 'upper body injury' excuse or says they just kept Smith out of practice to rest him, then they don't have to abide by that 48 hour rule.
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