Letang has been suspended 2 games for his boarding hit to Burmistrov during last night’s loss in Winnipeg. Here’s Shanaban explaining the call [link].
Shanny calls out that Burmistrov maintains his course and Kris finishes the check without trying to minimize impact. He also cites Tanger’s fine in April of last year for a boarding call.
Kris thinks not.
He will miss tonight’s game vs. Minnesota and Thursday against Montreal. That’s sad – it’s his hometown team. Letang will be back in the lineup on Saturday when the Penguins host the Devils.
So… fair? Unfair? It’s Shanahan’s first suspension of the regular season, but he proved in pre-season that he’s not shy about sending guys to the suite. It certainly achieves his goal of sending a strong message. I do agree that Kris could have mitigated the contact and not finished the check on Burmistrov so hard – he doesn’t try to slow down or stop. So if that’s the rule, if that’s what it takes to keep guys safe then so be it. It’s going to be a long season.
Tags: Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins
I just want to know why Smyth suspended for the elbow to Kunitz if Kris was suspended for this. I’m kinda pissed. It is going to be a long season.
What really grinds my gears about this is that they refrence one hit from last year as a basis of establishing frequency. I know this whole boarding issue is a slippery slope but Tanger is no Matt Cooke, no Raffi Torres, no what’s his face from the islanders that throws his weight at anything that moves. I bet if you looked at every player’s record they probably have one or two bad hits in there, because unfortunately sometimes they can’t be helped. I just feel like the way this has all come down makes Kris look like a habitual offender and he’s not.
Coming from a Caps fan who hates the Penguins, I agree with you Shi! I don’t think he should have been suspended. He served his penalty during the game and that should have been the end of it.
Shanny already looks burned out. It’s going to be a looooong season for him.
I was just thinking that, too…