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Injuries, Ejections Make NHL Headlines

Dec 1, 2009, 3:12 PM UTC

â†µWe don’t do a lot of NHL posts on TSB, and it’s not for lack of interest. Okay, fine, it’s usually for lack of interest. (For hockey coverage go to SN’s The Grinder.) So it does feel a bit disingenuous to throw up a post about Monday night’s two top stories in the NHL when both involve bonehead plays that led to injuries, and in one case, potential suspension. But bonehead they were and post we shall. â†µ

â†µâ†µFirst, the more serious of the instances – here’s video (â†µvia Puck Daddy) of Florida Panthers defenseman Keith Ballard slamming his stick into the goalpost after Thrashers forward Ilya Kovalchuk beat him for a first-period goal. The only problem was that as Ballard gave the ol’ two-handed wind up and chop in an effort to break his stick on the post, the blade hit Tomas Vokoun, his own goaltender, in the side of the head.â†µ

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â†µâ†µObviously Ballard did not intend to hit Vokoun in the head, but that’s exactly what happened. Vokoun was taken off the ice in a stretcher and, according to the Sun Sentinel, was released from St. Joseph’s Hospital after getting stitches in his ear. â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥Panthers’ general manager Randy Sexton said there was no internal ear damage and Vokoun wasn’t concussed. He underwent a CT scan.â†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥“The information I got is that he was awake, coherent, clear all the way to the hospital,” Sexton said.â†µâ‡¥

â†µâ†µâ†µBallard skated off the ice to the dressing room as Vokoun was tended to and while he finished the game, Ballard refused comment afterward, reportedly “too devastated to talk.”â†µ

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â†µAnother player not talking Monday night was NHL superstar Alexander Ovechkin, who was ejected – given a five minute major and his second game misconduct in three contests – after rushing Carolina Hurricane Tim Gleason with a knee-on-knee hit that left both players sprawled on the ice. â†µ

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â†µâ†µOvechkin clearly got the worst of that hit as Gleason was able to quickly return and, according to reports, Ovechkin was still walking with a limp after the game. Per the Washington Post:â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥Ovechkin issued a no-comment to a reporter before boarding the team bus, saying he is under strict orders from team management not to discuss his injury or the hit that resulted in his ejection.â†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥The two-time MVP walked with a slight limp, but did not appear to be wearing a brace and was not using crutches.â†µâ‡¥

â†µâ†µOvechkin will be examined today in Washington to learn the extent of his knee injury. The Caps will also wait to hear if Ovechkin will face any discipline from the league after two game misconducts in five days. Per the Post, the infractions fall into separate categories – Wednesday’s ejection was for boarding with Monday’s coming for kneeing – so a suspension is not automatic. All game misconducts are reviewed by the league and are subject to an automatic $200 fine. It’s uncertain if Ovechkin was able to pay the fine with loose change in the seat cushions of his car. â†µâ†µPeople who cover the league have already started the debate of whether or not Ovechkin should be suspended. It behooves Colin Campbell to move quickly one way or the other before the Around-the-Horn-types who only pay attention when something like this happens start weighing in on the matter. Wait, I think that’s me ... the league better get on this one fast.â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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