On May 7, one day after his hit on Devils defenseman Dainius Zubrus, Claude Giroux was notified that he would be suspended for Game 5 of the NHL Playoffs. While this might’ve been a fair ruling for a hit to the head of that caliber, Giroux’s hit was unintentional and he does not have a history of dirty hits.
The main problem I have with this hit is consistency. Earlier in the playoffs, Predators defenseman Shea Weber took the head of Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg and slammed it into the glass. This intentional hit got Weber only a $2500 fine from Brendan Shanahan.
While Giroux’s right shoulder hit Dainius Zubrus, he had already skated past the defenseman and didn’t even know where he hit him. While the hit was late, Giroux was just trying to finish off his check.
Weber on the other hand blatantly targeted his opponent's head with intent to injure. If Weber is only given a small fine it seems ludicrous to give Giroux a suspension for that hit.
Since Giroux is Philly’s most talented player, the Flyers will find it tough to win Game 5 down 3-1 in the series. They don’t have any momentum and losing ...
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Article written by Patrick Britton
NHL Playoffs 2012: Why Claude Giroux Should Not Have Been Suspended for Game 5
May 8th, 2012 by Patrick Britton Leave a reply »
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