‘BOW TIED: Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson lies on the ice after being elbowed in the head by the Rangers’ Carl Hagelin, who was suspended three games for the hit by the NHL last night. Game 3 of the contentious series is tonight in Ottawa. (Getty Images)
Brendan Shanahan, the NHL’s vice president of player safety, slammed Rangers forward Carl Hagelin last night with a three-game suspension for his elbow to the head of Senators forward Daniel Alfredsson midway through the second period of Saturday’s 3-2 overtime loss at Madison Square Garden.
“After Alfredsson chips the puck up the boards, Hagelin continues on his path, and finishes his check with his arms up high, recklessly striking Alfredsson in the side of the head with his elbow,” Shanahan said in a video outlining his decision on the league’s website. “This hit is a clear violation of what the NHL rules as elbowing.
“It’s important to note that while Alfredsson saw this hit coming and braced himself for it, in doing so he not significantly changes the position of his head. Also, although Alfredsson’s stick briefly comes up prior to contact, we do not feel this was a reasonable excuse for the elbow that took place.”
The Rangers released their own statement about the suspension a short time later, in which the team said it wouldn’t appeal the suspension while also taking a shot at Shanahan’s decision.
“The New York Rangers accept the NHL’s three-game suspension of Carl Hagelin and will not pursue an appeal,” the statement read. “However, we are thoroughly perplexed in the ruling’s inconsistency with other supplementary discipline decisions that have been made throughout this season and during the playoffs. We will have no further comment on this decision.”
Shanahan also said the fact that Alfredsson was injured and forced to leave the game due to the hit was a factor in his decision. The Senators said yesterday there was no update on Alfredsson’s status for Game 3 tonight.
The fact Rangers captain Ryan Callahan never left Saturday’s game after being on the receiving end of a similar elbow from Ottawa’s Chris Phillips could explain why Phillips didn’t even have to meet with Shanahan about the hit. After Saturday’s game, Rangers coach John Tortorella said if Hagelin were suspended for his hit, Phillips should be as well.
But Tortorella and the Rangers will now be forced to make a decision about what to do with the hole on their top line now that Hagelin has been sidelined. They could turn to either use John Scott, Chris Kreider — signed less than a week ago after helping Boston College win a national championship — or an AHL call-up to take Hagelin’s place.
Hagelin, who grew up in Sweden watching Alfredsson play, texted Alfredsson Saturday to express his remorse and send well wishes. He described the play as nothing more than bad timing — an assessment Shanahan obviously disagreed with.
“I tried to finish my check, and he chipped it out and kind of went back a bit, so my elbow came up,” Hagelin said. “His stick kind of came in front of my face, [so] I kind of moved my head back a bit and my elbow came up and hit him in the head. I just hope he’s doing well and that he can play [tonight].”
Don’t expect the Rangers to change with Hagelin sidelined. After yesterday’s practice, Tortorella made it clear he’ll be expecting the same Black-and-Blueshirt mentality from his team he has pushed for all season.
“We are who we are,” he said. “I’ve said all along, I like the hockey club. I like the way we handled ourselves last night. We didn’t get it done [Saturday], but we’re not changing.”
“I know everybody’s going to talk about adjustments, but I’ll tell you right now, we’re not adjusting. We’re going to go play.”