After serving a two-game suspension stemming from an incident last year, when he was a member of the Philadelphia Flyers, it didn’t take long for Daniel Carcillo to pick up his own suspension as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks.
In the early going of Friday’s 3-0 loss against the Carolina Hurricanes, Carcillo appeared to shove Joni Pitkanen into the end boards as the two were racing for a puck. No penalty was called on the play and no injury was suffered by either Pitkanen or Carcillo.
It’s really a tough call to make when looking at it, even in slow motion. Did Pitkanen lose his balance just before Carcillo was on top of him from behind? Did Carcillo shove Pitkanen into the boards, making the play truly ‘reckless’?
While it may not have been the most reckless thing Carcillo has done in his career, there didn’t appear to be any intent on the hit. Had he just rode him into the boards, though, there would likely be no suspension, if even a fine. But there was a clear shove, as small as it may have been, and Carbomb is now feeling the hammer of the new NHL disciplinarian, Brendan Shanahan.
Though it was Rob Blake that introduced the video presentation for the rationale behind Carcillo’s suspension, he outlined his points just as Brendan Shanahan has in each of his “Shanaban” videos this season. His key points were the fact that it was an illegal check, the push from behind caused a violent impact with the boards, Carcillo is a repeat offender, and there was no apparent injury.
From the NHL rulebook, rule 41.1:
A boarding penalty shall be imposed on any player or goalkeeper who checks an opponent in such a manner that causes the opponent to be thrown violently in the boards. The severity of the penalty, based upon the degree of violence of the impact with the boards, shall be at the discretion of the Referee.
Of course, Carcillo didn’t receive a penalty but the hit was reviewed nonetheless.
The response from Carcillo was one more of frustration than of anger over his two-game ban. He joked that he was going to change his last name, as it was likely his reputation that did him in. Through what Carcillo said Saturday, it’s very clear that he had no intent behind the play, and was just trying to make a play on the puck.
Joel Quenneville defended Carcillo, noting that he thought Pitkanen was off balance before the two went into the boards and agreed that a good percentage of what led to a suspension was Carcillo’s history as a goon.
Of course, a play like this and the suspension that followed will bring out those who have hated Carcillo for years and want players like him out of the league.
But Carcillo has made a concerted effort to clean up his game so far this year. He’s been a contributor in the top six for the Hawks, playing with Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa on a line, and playing it well. He also has yet to drop the gloves this season. Think about that one for a second.
The Hawks managed one game without Carcillo already, even with John Scott in the lineup in his place, but that was against the one-win Colombus Blue Jackets. His presence will certainly be missed against a considerably more physical opponent against Nashville on Monday night.
At the end of the day, did the hit deserve a penalty? Probably. Did it deserve a suspension? That’s not entirely clear. It would be interesting to see an identical hit from someone who is not a repeat offender, but give the NHL at least some credit for maintaining their consistency over hits like this.
I am a Car Bomb fan but pure and simple it was dirty
Kudos to the NHL for finally having a FAIR and BALANCED authority in charge of cleaning up the game.
I was pretty sick and tired of the favortism that marquis players like Chris Pronger would receive when one of his MANY cheap shots were reviewed. It’s nice to know that the “clean guy” image doesn’t make it past today’s video review team.
“A tough call to make when looking at it”??? … “there didn’t appear to be any intent on the hit”????
Those might be the most ridiculous and unobjective comments I’ve read all week (I’d say “ever”, but we all know that sports is all ABOUT fans who can’t be objective).
Ok, so let’s be real, here. If by no intent, you mean that Carcillo didn’t intend to KILL him, then ok, sure, I’ll buy that. But to suggest that Danny Boy didn’t INTEND to knock Pitkanen off balance is sheer stupidity. OF COURSE he intended to do that, and when you do that to a guy 10 feet from the boards, you ARE GOING to cause an injury. It’s reckless, plain and simple. The fact that Joni wasn’t injured is blind chance. He could’ve been hospitalized.
This is a TEXTBOOK example of why the boarding rule exists. Carcillo violated it. Should’ve gotten a penalty, but didn’t. Should’ve gotten suspended, and did.