It hasn’t taken long for Judge Shanahan to come out with his elaborate videos where he makes a ruling on a hit and explains why he made the decision he did. Tuesday night in Pittsburgh, Colin McDonald of the New York Islanders and Ben Lovejoy of the Pittsburgh Penguins were battling for the puck in the corner. Then what happened was McDonald clutching onto Lovejoy and delivering a face-first hit into the end boards. McDonald received a major penalty and game misconduct for boarding initially, and the league further decided to suspend him for two games after review.
What could have kept it at two games instead of additional time off was the time of the game it occurred. The incident happened with 1:06 remaining in the second period. I believe if it happened with 1:06 remaining in the third period it could have been expanded to a third game. I have no problem in the penalty. When you see the video below, McDonald was able to see the numbers on Lovejoy’s back going as far back as the face-off dot. Then he still proceeded to violently push him into the boards. It’s these and other hits we are trying to eradicate from the game to make it safe and enjoyable for everyone playing.
McDonald will lose $7,567.56 in salary for the two games, which such fines and suspension money will go towards the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund. He will sit out games Thursday and Sunday when the Islanders have a home-and-away series with New Jersey. He will be eligible to return Tuesday Feb. 5 when the Islanders host the Penguins.
