It was a wild finish in Game 5 of the Blackhawks/Predators series on Saturday. Down 4-3 in the final few minutes, Chicago pulled its goalie but lost its man advantage when Marian Hossa was sent to the box for pushing Dan Hamhuis into the boards. The play was reminiscent of Alex Ovechkin’s push of Brian Campbell that LBS writer Erin Redmond termed dirty. I didn’t think there was anything wrong with Ovechkin’s hit and the result of Campbell’s play confirms my initial belief — Hossa was called for a five minute major for boarding.
NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell decided no suspension was necessary for Hossa despite giving Alex Ovechkin a two-game suspension based on the “repeat offender” concept. Going back to the crazy finish in Chicago, Hossa’s penalty took away the Blackhawks’ man advantage when they pulled their goalie. Despite playing five-on-five hockey, Patrick Kane put in a rebound to tie the game at 4 with 13.6 seconds left. Just over four minutes into overtime, Hossa came out of the penalty box and poked a deflected puck into the net for the game-winner making it 3-2 Chicago in the series. Here’s the infamous video of Marian Hossa’s hit on Dan Hamhuis to see for yourself:
Sources:
Hawks’ Hossa avoids NHL Suspension [AP/Sporting News]
