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Not Happy With The Suspension Length Of Mottau
by Paul on 11/22/08 at 06:48 PM ET
Comments (2)
from Chris Botta of NYI Point Blank,
Two games for Mottau. Laughable…
The Islanders, on the other hand, prefaced their comments with the poetry of “I know Mike Mottau and Mike Mottau is not a dirty player…” Please. As Don La Greca said so eloquently on our radio show, “What a bunch of garbage. He is now”!
Would you ever hear Arbour say that? Would you ever hear the Red Wings, Devils or Bob Gainey’s Canadiens testify for the character of a player who ran down one of their players? What NHL team would have gone away as quietly as the Islanders did last night? I’m the first to admit I’ve never fully grasped the enforcer concept, but I can also tell you I never saw what I saw in the final ten minutes in New Jersey last night.
added 7:16pm, from Greg Logan of On the Islanders Beat,
Devils defenseman Mike Mottau received two games from the NHL for his elbow to the head of Islanders center Frans Nielsen Friday night at the Prudential Center. Nielsen received 8-12 weeks on the injured list—a span of up to 36 games—from Mottau’s reckless action.
The uneven hand of NHL justice strikes again.
Filed in: NHL Teams, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Mike+Mottau,
Comments
It wasn’t an elbow to the head. Watching a couple angles I don’t think Mottau even hit Nielsen’s head—it was a glove/forearm the top of his chest, below his throat. And Nielsen injured is knee when it planted in the ice awkwardly—not his head, and it wasn’t a knee on knee.
It was a dumbass hit and deserved a suspension. No idea why Pock got 5 games, but it’s absurd to call for blood quite the way some Isles fans/reporters have.
And it does make a difference when it’s Mike Mottau, attempting his first open-ice hit I’ve seen in his Devils career and failing, then sticking out his arm so he doesn’t get beat, rather than some guy who just takes runs at your players. Hunter took him to task and Mottau will be a marked man next game versus the Islanders. But there’s a difference between intent to injure, and injuring someone on what was an illegal hit.
I don’t think you can justify some 8+ game suspension for Mottau. Maybe 3-5, but there were mitigating factors involved (no head injury, first-time offender, didn’t appear to be clear intent to injure, wasn’t an elbow). I think 3 games would have been appropriate. 2 is just a little light.
Posted by Dave from NY on 11/23/08 at 10:52 AM ET
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I still don’t get why Pock got 5 games anyway.
Posted by K24 from NYC on 11/22/08 at 10:07 PM ET