Make sure to follow Mark on Twitter!
The Detroit Red Wings (6-2-0) overcame a frightening injury to their top defenseman early on in the contest Thursday night to serve the Colorado Avalanche (6-1-0) with their first defeat of the season in Denver at the Pepsi Center before a crowd littered with large pockets of "red", much to the chagrin of Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy.
The hit in question interestingly enough came on a play where the hybrid icing was waived off by the linesman:
The resulting memo from the league office this morning:
Colorado Avalanche left wing Cody McLeod will have a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety for a boarding incident during Thursday's game against the Detroit Red Wings at Pepsi Center.
McLeod was offered the opportunity for an in-person hearing as required by provisions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement for any suspension that can exceed five games.
At 2:13 of the first period, McLeod was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for boarding Detroit's Niklas Kronwall.
Kronwall remained down and was taken from the ice on a stretcher. He did not return. After the game, the Red Wings announced Kronwall sustained a concussion and cuts to his right ear.
The following grounds are being considered for supplemental discipline: boarding. However, the Department of Player Safety retains the right to make adjustments to the infraction upon review.
It's a difficult situation to broach if you are
Brendan Shanahan as there have been conflicting opinions on the severity of this hit. The bottom line remains, if a player sees the back of a player's jersey (especially near the boards), they are supposed to avoid hitting that player from behind. McLeod followed Kronwall in from the blue line and saw Kronwall's #55 on his jersey the entire time.
Yes, Kronwall's sudden turn left accentuated the contact made with the boards, essentially crunching Kronwall's head with the top of the boards and popping off his helmet. If Kronwall turns to his right, McLeod likely drills Kronwall's left shoulder into the glass and the play continues. Kronwall's attempt to avert the hit enhanced the impact of the collision.
However, that being said, Kronwall's actions do not mitigate the fact McLeod was irresponsible in continuing to pursue the hit from behind. Ultimately, a player has to be held accountable for his actions, even if his intent wasn't to crush Kronwall's noggin against the dasher.
Given the fact this injury took place mere minutes into the opening frame, it left the Red Wings with only 5 rearguards for the duration of the contest. Major props to the remainder of the blueliners for picking up the slack in the absence of their leader on the backend.
Danny DeKeyser led the team with 25:54 in ice time,
Jonathan Ericsson played 24:48 and
Kyle Quincey logged 24:39 of ice time. Even
Jakub Kindl played upwards of 23 minutes (22:56).
Fortunately for Kronwall, he apparently sustained a concussion and a cut to his face but appears to be feeling fine thus far in the hours after absorbing the hit. You would think the Wings will want to be cautious in ensuring "Kronner" doesn't rush back unless they are 100% certain he is fully recovered. A night off in Phoenix tomorrow night, even if he is feeling "fine" doesn't sound like a bad idea and would allow
Brendan Smith an opportunity to return to the lineup.
Bottom line, I think the league ends up suspending McLeod for 4 games. You?
************************************************************************
On the game winning goal during the 3rd period, something that might go overlooked given the superb snipe by the "Mule", might be the fantastic feed by
Justin Abdelkader on the broken play following Alfredsson's entry into the offensive zone.
For all of the complaints that were being slung towards
Mike Babcock last season when he placed Abdelkader on the club's top line, #8 has certainly not looked out of place playing on any number of lines thus far during the early portion of the season. That flexibility is something Babcock loves in his players, especially wingers such as Bertuzzi, Cleary and Eaves.
On another note, it's a shame Franzen doesn't mentally prepare as if he is facing the Colorado Avalanche every night. Franzen has 15 goals in 28 career games vs. the Avalanche. Good to see the "Mule" finally get rid of the goose egg in his goals scored column.
************************************************************************
Here is just another example why
Pavel Datsyuk STILL might be one of the most underrated hockey players ever. Yes, he scores the insurance goal below. Yes,
Daniel Alfredsson makes a superb play patiently allowing two Colorado defenders to put themselves out of position before passing to a streaking Datsyuk towards the goal.
However, just watch the first five seconds of this clip below to truly appreciate just how good Datsyuk is. The rest of the clip isn't too bad either, as he waits to make his "break" towards the net into open space for Alfredsson to find him.
Thing of beauty!
As
Ken Daniels coined them last night, "The Euro Train" of Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Alfredsson saw their first extended appearance together for most of the 3rd period last night. As a whole, the trio have 23 combined points over the course of the current four game winning streak. It will be interesting to see whether Babcock decides to give the trio an extended look in Phoenix on Saturday night.
************************************************************************
Maybe I'm nitpicking, but I couldn't help but notice on Colorado's game-tying goal during the 2nd period by Avs' captain
Gabriel Landeskog, that
Henrik Zetterberg appeared to be guilty of not moving feet and allowing his man to win the puck battle and easily get into a scoring position.
That being said,
Jonas Gustavsson will be the first to tell you he would love to have that shot back. Probably would say the same thing about the first goal too by
Erik Johnson. Nevertheless, props to Gustavsson once again for slamming the door shut in the 3rd period when it mattered most, especially two back-to-back stops on Landeskog from the slot and
Jan Hejda on the rebound with Detroit clinging to the 3-2 lead midway through the final stanza.
************************************************************************
In a pleasant surprise, Fox Sports Detroit posted
an interview conducted by
Chris Osgood with former combatant,
Patrick Roy. A very interesting discussion on their thoughts involving the Avalanche-Red Wing rivalry, along with their bout in 1998.
************************************************************************
Lastly, I wonder what the odds were on
Drew Miller on having the Wings' first fight of the regular season?
[email protected]
Follow me on twitter:
@markspizzirri
Detroit Red Wings Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»