Caps fans breathed a sigh of relief when it was learned after tonight’s game that defenseman Mike Green should be okay after a scary knee-on-knee collision with Florida defenseman Dmitry Kulikov at 16:51 of the second period. Caps coach Bruce Boudreau says Green suffered a “charley horse” – or a bruised thigh. And though the 24-year-old was walking with a good limp as he left Verizon Center on Friday night he and Boudreau both said he might be able to play on Sunday against Tampa Bay. That’s good. Because after the hit Green stayed on the ice for a few minutes and couldn’t put any weight on the right leg as he was being helped off. That’s enough to make any Caps player, coach or fan blanch – especially when we’re talking about a player with 12 goals, 40 assists and 52 points – tops among all NHL defensemen.
However, Green may not play Sunday anyway if the NHL office takes a look at his elbow to the head of Florida forward Michael Frolik in the first period. A two-minute penalty was whistled on the play and the TSN studio analysts were critical of Green during their intermission segment on the Canadian network’s broadcast. Green had just been leveled by Florida forward Cory Stillman moments earlier during that shift and was none too happy about the play. But he denied any intent to deliver a head shot to Frolik.
“I didn’t mean to elbow him,” said Green, who doesn’t have a disciplinary track record with the league office. “I might have got it up. I thought it was my shoulder.”
TSN’s analysts, though, were none too happy about the play. Here’s a transcription of the conversation with host James Duthie and analysts Ray Ferraro and Darren Dreger describing the play. It happned at 4:24 of the first period.
“That’s one of the worst elbows we’ve seen this year,” said Duthie.
Added Ferraro: “Nothing that is defensible about this play in my opinion. Green had been hit earlier in the shift. He closes in on Frolik. and leads with his elbow – hits him with his left elbow right in the jaw. To me it doesn’t matter that Frolik got up. This in my opinion is a suspendable play.”
“Can we put a number on it, two-game [suspension] or five-game?” Duthie asked.
“Yeah, two games doesn’t work,” Ferraro said. “Because it’s two games, it’s two games, it’s two games. It has to be a stiffer penalty.”
Dreger then noted that NHL’s chief disciplinarian Colin Campbell – the league’s vice president of hockey operations – has to remain impartial because his son, Gregory Campbell, is a forward with the Panthers. So he will recuse himself from any potential hearing – which Dreger expects will happen – and his top deputy, Mike Murphy, will handle the case. Meanwhile, Green will play the waiting game at practice on Saturday. Though I wouldn’t expect him to participate in that, either, given his injury.
My own opinion? TSN had a behind-the-play angle I don’t think Comcast SportsNet viewers saw. May be wrong on that. And I don’t think it helps Green’s case at all. Having said that – with no track record I’d be surprised at a two-game suspension, let alone the TSN crew’s implied five gamer. That’s way over the top. Guessing a fine here and a “don’t do that again” slap from Campbell and the league office. We’ll see.
