DETROIT – Evgeni [The Hammer] Malkin will play in Game 3, after the National Hockey League sculpted its rule book faster than an Arizona ice carver Sunday night.
Malkin jumped Detroit’s Henrik Zetterberg with 19 seconds to play in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 3-1 loss at Joe Louis Arena Sunday, earning an instigator penalty that comes with an automatic suspension, upon review.
Colin Campbell, the NHL’s Director of Hockey Operations, rescinded the suspension before the equipment had dried after Game 2, issuing a release that stated: "None of the criteria in this rule applied in this situation."
Malkin clearly grabbed the best player on the opposition team, late in a game that irretrievably lost for Pittsburgh, and began raining punches down on him. If the spirit of the rule is to protect players under just such a circumstance, should it matter than Malkin has — according to hockeyfights.com — never had a fight in his NHL career?
Stated Campbell: "Suspensions 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. A suspension could also be applied when a player seeks retribution for a prior incident. Neither was the case here, and therefore the one-game suspension is rescinded."
Malkin did not play the post-game with the courage he showed before the buzzer, refusing to speak with the media.
The rule reads like this:
Rule 47.22: A player or goalkeeper who is deemed to be the instigator of an altercation in the final five minutes of regulation time or at any time in overtime shall be suspended for one game, pending a review of the incident. The Director of Hockey Operations will review every such incident and may rescind the suspension based on a number of criteria. The criteria for the review shall include, but not limited to, the score, previous incidents, etc.
So there is plenty is wiggle room written into the rule for Campbell.
Just in case, let’s say, an important series is heading back to the arena where the player in question has been his team’s best player. And that team is down 2-0, on life support, and really needs the guy to win Game 3.
It was the first fight for both combatants, and no one will ever accuse Malkin of being a goon.
But the fact remains: with 19 seconds left in the game he sought out the best player on Detroit, outside of the goaltender Chris Osgood, a Swedish skill player who has never before fought, and began to pound on him.
You’d have to look long and hard to find a hockey person who thinks that two European skill players duking it out even constitutes a fight. So what this rule really means is, if it were defenceman Hal Gill who had grabbed Zetterberg, he would be suspended — no questions asked.
Such is the way of the NHL rule book.
