Malkin's penalty rescinded (merged)

[Nero 20]

Well, it was called by the books. It's an automatic suspension, but it can be rescinded by Campbell at his own discretion. And it was. End of story. If they will rescind the suspension for the likes of Walker, they definitely aren't going to keep it for the boy-wonder of the golden boy.

It would have been nice and funny if Pittsburgh was down their second player, but, looks like the guys just have to keep finding ways to win with him out there. Lets go Red Wings!

Edited June 1, 2009 by Nero

[betterREDthandead 58]

Deep down you guys know you have been outplayed 2 games and are lucky to be ahead. This series is just getting started. Good luck in game three.

Scoreboard.

You know, I do my best to argue against the tide of folks who do nothing but complain about how this whole thing is a conspiracy against the Wings. And then the league goes and does something like this, and how am I supposed to maintain a case like that?

Well, the Pens have no excuses now.

[BuckeyeWingsfan80 209]

Deep down you guys know you have been outplayed 2 games and are lucky to be ahead. This series is just getting started. Good luck in game three.

Deep down you know the Wings are without their best forward and their captain is about 80% right now.

Deep down you realize that the Wings have beaten your stars with depth and as the series goes along that depth will get better with the return of Datsyuk and possibly Draper.

Deep down you realize that the Penguins have played as well as they can and they still lost both games by 2 goals.

deep down you know the Wings can play much much better.

[HOCKEY MATTERS 167]

Eh, so what. Except for the spear on Ozzie (which really didn't look like much) the Wings came out of this looking much better than the Pins. Z's handling of the "fight" Pwned Maklin...especially because Malcontent had to come in from behind. Ass punching, sticks and punches form behind......Penguins = natures *** birds?

Refs were letting the Pins get away with murder, but anyone can see that the Wings clearly outclass them by their mature and respectable contributions to the scoreboard.

My prediction: Pens are on a short leash for the first 6 - 8 minutes of game 3. When the Wings are up by a couple of goals, it's back to business as unusual. Pins = Wings *****.

[Midland_wings_Fan 0]

Deep down you know the Wings are without their best forward and their captain is about 80% right now.

Deep down you realize that the Wings have beaten your stars with depth and as the series goes along that depth will get better with the return of Datsyuk and possibly Draper.

Deep down you realize that the Penguins have played as well as they can and they still lost both games by 2 goals.

deep down you know the Wings can play much much better.

NHL uses only rules that are convenient

Yahoo Sports

DETROIT – The National Hockey League rule book spells out 87 rules and hundreds of sub-rules that govern its game. There is an 88th rule that goes unwritten: The league’s braintrust can invalidate any of the others, so long as it behooves their short-sighted and selfish interests.

No group of management has so mangled its sport as the NHL, and its never-ending quest for redemption and relevance turned laughable again Sunday night following Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals at Joe Louis Arena. The league overturned an automatic one-game suspension handed down to Pittsburgh star Evgeni Malkin(notes), whose post-whistle elbow and subsequent fight with Detroit’s Henrik Zetterberg(notes) earned him an instigator penalty.

Because Malkin’s antics came with 19 seconds remaining in the Penguins’ 3-1 loss that left them facing a 2-0 series deficit, it triggered Rule 47.22, which hands down the one-game ban to players who instigate a fight in the game’s final five minutes. It is a rule to prevent the kind of thuggery and frustration spilling that Malkin displayed. The punishment fits.

Except in the NHL, which includes out clauses with its rules. This suspension can be reviewed by Colin Campbell, the NHL’s executive vice president and director of hockey operations, who certainly doesn’t have anything riding on Malkin, the potential MVP, no, sir, and wouldn’t at all let his decision be compromised by the quality of the player involved, no way, no how, because he is a fair and impartial jury of one, yes, indeed.

And Campbell did review the incident. With the precision of an electron microscope, assuredly. The rule allows him to rescind the suspension based on “the score, previous incidents, etc.†Campbell determined that “none of the criteria in this rule applied to this situation,†and he went on to explain how.

“Suspensions,†Campbell began in his prepared release, “are applied under this rule when a team attempts to send a message in the last five minutes by having a player instigate a fight.†And that, Campbell said, was not the case Sunday.

Oh, what delicious wording. The Penguins may not have wanted to send a message to the Red Wings, who manhandled them with two season-long minor leaguers and a third-line center tallying their goals. Malkin did. His frustration boiled. The entire point of the fight was to send a message – that the Penguins were still around, and that they still had some fight in them, and that he was going to show it by beefing with a guy 4 inches shorter.

In his first three years, Malkin has not once gotten a five-minute penalty for fighting. This was Zetterberg’s first fight in his six NHL seasons. These are two of the best players in the league, and even if it wasn’t a sucker punch like Scott Walker’s(notes) fist introducing itself to Aaron Ward’s(notes) face in the Carolina-Boston series – which, by the way, was overturned by Chief Justice Campbell, ever wise he – the rule is in plain language.

Now, certainly the rule itself is questionable. That’s not the point. The worst kinds of rules aren’t the ones that make little sense. They are the ones levied willy-nilly, or even worse, enforced with favoritism.

The NHL believes it cannot afford to lose Malkin, even for a game. Pittsburgh staying competitive is good for the league, which wants a long series and surely wouldn’t mind watching Sidney Crosby(notes) skate around the ice with the Cup hoisted above his head. Those versed in NHL justice consider this such a non-issue that they simply scoff at it, so familiar are they with those in charge of the league treating their own bylaws like some burden.

It’s not cynicism if it’s true. Thirty minutes before Campbell’s ruling, Detroit coach Mike Babcock was asked about the potential of Malkin missing Game 3, and he said: “I don’t think anything will happen.â€

So that is how it works in the NHL.

Face a penalty.

Get bailed out.

Everyone goes on with their merry day.

The players know the rule because of its severity, and still, Malkin had no problem instigating. The scrum started around Detroit’s net after Pittsburgh center Max Talbot(notes) poked goalie Chris Osgood(notes), who had made a save. The Red Wings did not take kindly to it and surrounded Talbot. Malkin swerved behind the goal, laid into Zetterberg with a left elbow and kept goading him until the gloves came off and punches went in both directions.

And he did this knowing that the league would never, ever suspend him. Players realize the NHL is weak in mind and spirit. It could, ironically, learn something about toughness from them. So they’re going to continue to flout the rule until Campbell or commissioner Gary Bettman or someone else steps in and abolishes it or enforces it.

The league must make up its mind. If it agrees with the principle of the rule, live with its consequences. Otherwise, get rid of it and mete out punishment in its usual manner: devoid of logic and consistency.

Next thing you know, the players will look at the book and wonder what other rules they can break. In fact, that happened Sunday. At the end of Campbell’s statement, the NHL made sure to include this chestnut:

“NHL Hockey Operations also determined that Malkin should have been assessed a game misconduct for not having his jersey tied down.â€

Well, that’s grand. An unnecessary elbow. A few good punches. And the NHL is worried about Evgeni Malkin’s clothing.

Like you’d expect anything different.

First article I have seen on a national level that isn't biased towards Pittsburgh.

[Broken 16 381]

Yahoo Sports

First article I have seen on a national level that isn't biased towards Pittsburgh.

And I completely disagree with it. The NHL has made many, many blunders in the past, but this isn't one of them.

[Nightfall 871]

http://www.freep.com/article/20090531/COL2...hout+their+best

An excellent article on this issue. I agree that Malkin should not be suspended. I think the rule is dumb and hopefully this will make the NHL remove the instigator rule.

The only people begging for this suspension are moron Wings fans who want an advantage in the next game. Personally, I want to see the Wings beat the Pens at full strength. Then, there is no doubt who the champion is. I already know if the Wings were to lose in these finals, every Wings fan would be making excuses such as Pavel being out or Lidstrom playing hurt. It makes the fans feel better about a loss if you can put the blame on injuries. Well, the Pens are not as dinged up as the Wings. Pulling Malkin out for a game would just put the Pens fans in the same boat. If they lost game 3, they would claim it was because of the suspension.

I want there to be no doubt, and letting Malkin play is the right thing to do. In order to be the Stanley Cup Champion, you should have to be the best team and beat the best in the league.

[softshoes 83]

Deep down you guys know you have been outplayed 2 games and are lucky to be ahead. This series is just getting started. Good luck in game three.

Say what you really mean ok.

[Zetterling 16]

This sucks, I wish they would just call it consistently every game.

Edited June 1, 2009 by Zetterling

[Paolino99 5]

Suspension rescinded: .............SCANDALOUS!!!

No matter,i wanna beat s***tsburgh with Malkin...

Pav come back soon!!

Go Wings

[Husker BigGuy 0]

Of all the Pens I actually like Malkin the most. He has the team's only 2G in the first two games.

Fedetenko had the goal in game one, IIRC.

[RyanK 1]

Things like that can earn you a ban from here as well. LGW does not condone trolling other boards. Bad for all those involved.

::

[JayUp88 1]

I want Malkin playing in game three otherwise we'll just hear about how "we only beat them because Malkin's out"

[RyanK 1]

I want Malkin playing in game three otherwise we'll just hear about how "we only beat them because Malkin's out"

What kind of a stupid ******* idiot could say that when they are down 0-2 WITH malkin? Rules are rules, and I wish bettman didnt have his mouth full of .. well I wish they'd just stick to the rules.

[Holmstrom96 347]

If they don't want to enforce the rules why have tbem? I agree that I want to see Malkin play and wouldn't want to have one of our players tossed for throwing a tantrum, but perhaps they should remove the rule. It's stupid to purposely circumvent the rules.

[edicius 3,269]

Let's look at it this way...

In Game One, the Wings proved that they're in the heads of Crosby and Fleury.

In Game Two, the Wings added Malkin to that list.

Shall we get in the head of Staal in Game Three?

[ltgator333 3]

Some idiot pens fans WOULD DEFINITELY whine that the wings beat them in game 3 because of no Malkin. Personally I agree with everyone here that says yeah keep Malkin playing because no he could not control himself last night and I hope it gets worse and he takes a few more stupid penalties and shows exactly why he's not ready to be a champion.

I just wish they'd given Satan a 3rd man in (or he'd stayed out) and the linesman wouldda let them go. Z looked pretty good vs Malkin.

[Opie 308]

Am I the only Wings fan that thought Z looked out classed, never lost the gloves until the last punch he threw, Malkin landed a few clean shots after losing his gloves (and stick mind you), it was basically a draw with Malkin winning the non-gloved punches thrown category and taking the fight.

[Lovin Jiri Fischer 147]

Am I the only Wings fan that thought Z looked out classed, never lost the gloves until the last punch he threw, Malkin landed a few clean shots after losing his gloves (and stick mind you), it was basically a draw with Malkin winning the non-gloved punches thrown category and taking the fight.

Here is the video.

At 0:19 you can see Malkin going after Zetterberg behind the net when Z has no idea

At 0:22 you can see Malkin swing his stick at Zetterberg's head

At 0:27 you see two Pens trying to hold down Zetterberg

So how was he outclassed?

[jvxp 0]

Learning how to play puss hockey from his captain. Punching Hank in the face, then swinging his stick at him, and then trying to punch him while Satan had both arms around him? And I thought Crosby was bad I don't recall every seeing Hank look that pissed off, although I would have been too in that situation. Even Ozzie looked like he was going to get involved there for a second. Time for Malkin to catch a Kronwall hit next game I think.

I hope someone kicks his ass or hits him like we did Havlet!!!!!!! I hate that f_cker!

[Holmstrom96 347]

Here is the video.

At 0:19 you can see Malkin going after Zetterberg behind the net when Z has no idea

At 0:22 you can see Malkin swing his stick at Zetterberg's head

At 0:27 you see two Pens trying to hold down Zetterberg

So how was he outclassed?

I agree with LJF. Zetterberg didn't want to fight, but he was getting mauled by Satan and Malkin. Satan was trying to hold him while Malkin landed punches. Zetterberg knew they were out to try to injure him so he defended himself. Z wasn't trying to make it a fair fight, he was just trying to keep himself from getting gang rapped by a bunch of sore losers.

[redwashington2000 42]

Vagino sorry Gino dad is ***, he is ******* kissing everybody out there when his son scores.

[Red4wings4life 0]

I though Z did a great job last night.... Malkin was looking for Z because of how Z is shutting down Malkin's boyfriend Crosby.

The Wings are in side the heads of Crosby - Malkin - MAF now. This series is over. Pens believed all their own hype, that this year was different, this year they could do it, this year would be their year.

Then the Red Wings showed them how to play SCF hockey. Again. I think the Wings need to charge for these lessions this time around.

Edited June 1, 2009 by Red4wings4life

[MidMichSteve 1,115]

Puck Fittsburgh

Edited June 1, 2009 by MidMichSteve

[maltbymaniac 13]

What kind of a stupid ******* idiot could say that when they are down 0-2 WITH malkin? Rules are rules, and I wish bettman didnt have his mouth full of .. well I wish they'd just stick to the rules.

+1

f*** malkin and the nhl rules.and who cares what anyone says how we won it