Justice is just different in playoffs
2008 NHL playoffs
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The incident occurred in the dying seconds of Game 2, which the Red Wings won to take a 2-0 lead over the Dallas Stars. To many fans, especially those who live in Michigan, it was worthy of a lengthy suspension.
But when the verdict came down on Sunday, Ribeiro, Osgood and Dallas forward Steve Ott all got fines — hardly a serious punishment. These guys spend more on a bottle of wine than the maximum amount the NHL can impose.
Osgood, it seems, had waved the butt end of his stick in Ribeiro's general direction to precipitate the incident, and Ott sucker-punched Kris Draper in the fracas that ensued.
This is NHL playoff justice. Anything short of an ax-murder is likely to be ignored. But don't blame the current dispenser of justice, Colin Campbell. It has always been this way.
There has been the occasional exception. When Gary Bettman was in the first few months of his regime, he didn't understand hockey tradition very well (insert your own cheap shot here) and seeing Dale Hunter deliver a cross-check to Pierre Turgeon after a goal, decided that Hunter had earned himself a 21-game suspension.
But since then, the NHL has followed a firm policy. First of all, suspensions, when they occur, are much shorter than they would be for a similar incident in the regular season. Secondly, every effort is made to keep the stars in the game.
At one time, the league used to defer playoff suspensions. One of the more notorious examples was the vicious slash that Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Ron Hextall delivered to Edmonton's Kent Nilsson in the 1987 Stanley Cup finals. Hextall was given the suspension he so richly deserved, but it didn't kick in until the following season.
Another notable incident occurred in 1993. In fact, it's one that Toronto Maple Leafs fans whine about to this day. In the conference final between the Leafs and Los Angeles Kings, Wayne Gretzky's errant stick cut Doug Gilmour. There was no call. Later in the game, Gretzky scored the winner.
If you listen to Leafs fans, that non-call cost their team a trip to the Stanley Cup final. The reality is that in the previous game, Gilmour had delivered a clear head-butt. In that era, such an action called for a three-game suspension — and at least one game in the playoffs. That infraction too was ignored. Had it not been, Gilmour wouldn't have been on the ice to be a target for Gretzky's stick.
The simple fact, as explained above, is that even though it's an unwritten rule, the NHL has always bent over backward to keep the stars in the game during the playoffs.
Last year, Anaheim Mighty Ducks defensemen Chris Pronger earned himself a couple of one-game suspensions for acts that would have earned him 5-8 games in the regular season. And it was no accident that his most recent suspension — imposed towards the end of the regular season, did not stretch into the playoffs.
Many fans thought that his suspension, when compared to the one Chris Simon received for a similar action, was far too lenient. But the concept of taking a star like Pronger out of playoff action was simply a non-starter.
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| Although Osgood flopped like an Italian soccer player, Ribeiro's act at the end of Game 2 was clearly a lack of discipline. (Paul Sancya / Getty Images) |
In the case of this latest incident, it must be conceded that it wasn't as bad as it looked. Today's goalies are so padded you couldn't hurt them with an elephant gun. And a slash from a guy of Ribeiro's stature certainly isn't going to do any damage.
As Campbell said in a radio interview, "There's a slash and then there's a slash. I can't even tell there's an injury on this play — if there was. There was no follow-through."
And despite Osgood's subsequent collapse to the ice, it was an act that would have done an Italian soccer player proud. That was Campbell's view as well. "With all due to respect to Chris, I guess that's what you have to do today," he said.
Campbell was the one who issued a one-game suspension to Pronger last year when he cranked Tomas Holmstrom into the boards from behind. But that was a much different circumstance
"Pronger cut him pretty seriously and they had a 4-1 lead at the time," Campbell explained.
Dallas has allowed six goals in this series and four have been scored on the power play. If the Stars are to have any hope of advancing, they have to do what they did in the previous round against the San Jose Sharks — show a lot of discipline.
Ribeiro's actions were anything but disciplined. In fact, they were downright stupid. The NHL let him off lightly. His teammates shouldn't be so charitable.
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