Malkin High Sticking Match Penalty (Suspended for One Game)

litflyersfan

Registered User
Jan 1, 2008
2,123
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Dumb move by Raffl punching him in the back of the head, dumber move by Malkin swinging his stick wildly in frustration. That said, it barely grazed Raffl and he should have gotten embellishment. 5 and a game for Malkin is suitable. If he had actually hit his head then it'd be suspension and fine worthy.
Cool, so the result and not the intent is all that matters. If so, the Flyers should feel free the swing away at Malkin’s visor in two weeks.
 

Cody Webster

Registered User
Jul 18, 2014
24,979
22,892
Dumb move by Raffl punching him in the back of the head, dumber move by Malkin swinging his stick wildly in frustration. That said, it barely grazed Raffl and he should have gotten embellishment. 5 and a game for Malkin is suitable. If he had actually hit his head then it'd be suspension and fine worthy.
Raffl was on the ice for a couple seconds. It's not like he was rolling on the ice like he got shot. He probably wanted to make sure shit wasn't leaking out of his pants after seeing a stick go flying by his head. Because, ya know, that happens every game.
 

Cody Webster

Registered User
Jul 18, 2014
24,979
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there are plenty yet you can't even find one to prove your point except for "it happens all the time", it really doesn't.
A star player getting punched and a player not getting suspended for doing it? Just because you have Crosby on your team and anyone who touches him gets suspended, doesn't mean it happens league wide. I'm not wasting my time finding you a video that can be found watching any hockey game
 

TooManyHumans

Registered User
May 4, 2018
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Cool, so the result and not the intent is all that matters. If so, the Flyers should feel free the swing away at Malkin’s visor in two weeks.
The NHL has a long history of showing it is the result and not the intent that matters when it comes to punishment. I agree that it is stupid but it is what it is at this point.
 

Pengwins

Registered User
Jun 13, 2017
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should have been major penalty on flyer player for punching in head then diving and pretending that hit him
 
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HTFN

Registered User
Feb 8, 2009
12,185
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Plenty of people are, actually.

Without getting into a legal debate, a punch to the head is definitely not something to just brush off and ignore. People have gotten off via self-defense where they’ve been punched or hit in the head and used a weapon (sometimes lethally) in retaliation.

But that’s real life, it’s not hockey.

The punch to the head absolutely is a part of this play - it’s what seems to drive Malkin to take that action. It adds context. If Malkin just came over out of nowhere and swung his stick at Raffl’s head, that’s a lot different than getting punched in the head and letting your stick swing while pushing him away.
You are responsible for your stick at all times.

If you decide to "let" your stick whip through the air at head height (where it could hit anyone, remember, not just Raffl), you deserve to be punished, regardless of what was done to you. Like it or not, there's a precedent for each event, and hockey players punch each other all the time. They don't crank their sticks through the air maliciously, and let's not pretend that this was in any way some goofy accident or comedy of errors that let his stick get that high either. The player has a noted temper and history of using his stick to cause damage, especially of a retaliatory nature.

It's hockey, getting a guy off his game includes extra shots and punches, you have to know better than that.
 
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Fatty McLardy

Registered User
Oct 6, 2017
4,243
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The reason this would be hard to find is because it happens so often nobody is going to think it is actually something special enough to warrant putting a video of it out. This is hockey, not soccer.

You'd think a garbage 3rd liner punching a star player on the back of the head happens so often that there would be even one video of it...
 

Tom ServoMST3K

In search of a Steinbach Hero
Nov 2, 2010
27,751
18,484
What's your excuse?
Completely fine with the call.

As a referee you have to call that. And Malkin deserves something supplemental for the action. I'd go at least 4 games, but I doubt the NHL does.

But Raffl with the embellishment could overshadow this.

I hope it doesn't, because that could have been really bad, and wasn't just reckless - but malicious.

EDIT: Lol at Pens fans saying the punch was really bad. That happens, what, 15 times a game in a scrum?
 
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