But did he get a penalty?
Everyboody wants to blame the goalie when a puck goes into the net, but few take it out on him. Not so for Keith Ballard of the Florida Panthers who, after goalie Tomas Vokoun let in a goal, took a two-handed whack at his goalies head then skated off to the bench.
In all honesty Ballard was probably going to smash his stick on the crossbar in frustration and did not mean to hit Vokoun, but he skates off so nonchalantly that you have to wonder what is going through his head.
Clearly the only thing going through Vokoun's head was Ballards stick as the goalies ear was severely cut. The ponderable here was, accident or no, if Ballard's stick had hit an opponent he would have been tossed from the game and probably gotten suspened. Accident or no the first rule of hockey is that you are always responsible for your stick.
So, what to do in this situation? Players smash their sticks all the time, against the boards, on the bench, on a goalpost, but when someone gets hurt, well, someone's gotta pay.
So, here's betting the NHL suspends Ballard for a week or more just to send a message.
Sticks down! Avoid a penalty: a hockey fight redefines the meaning of the word "accident.".(Regulatory/Law): An article from: Best's Review
In all honesty Ballard was probably going to smash his stick on the crossbar in frustration and did not mean to hit Vokoun, but he skates off so nonchalantly that you have to wonder what is going through his head.
Clearly the only thing going through Vokoun's head was Ballards stick as the goalies ear was severely cut. The ponderable here was, accident or no, if Ballard's stick had hit an opponent he would have been tossed from the game and probably gotten suspened. Accident or no the first rule of hockey is that you are always responsible for your stick.
So, what to do in this situation? Players smash their sticks all the time, against the boards, on the bench, on a goalpost, but when someone gets hurt, well, someone's gotta pay.
So, here's betting the NHL suspends Ballard for a week or more just to send a message.
Sticks down! Avoid a penalty: a hockey fight redefines the meaning of the word "accident.".(Regulatory/Law): An article from: Best's Review
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