It doesn’t mean much of anything coming from a Flyers fan, of course, but I’m of the opinion that based on precedent and intent and all of that, Mike Richards didn’t deserve a suspension for his hit on Tim Connolly in yesterday’s Game 6. According to Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet, Richards will not be suspended.
I base my opinion off of a few things. For starters, I don’t believe there’s any malicious intent from Richards, and it does sound horrible and you feel bad saying it, but there’s definitely some onus on Connolly to not put himself in that kind of position. The rulebook even says that.
But for the most part, I think the lack of suspension is the right call based solely on the precedent we’ve seen in these playoffs so far. Jarret Stoll sat one game for direct contact to the head of Ian White, as did Chris Kunitz for his elbow to the head of Simon Gagne. Those are much more egregious hits than Richards’, considering the whole contact-to-the-head factor.
Richards isn’t innocent in the slightest bit, and honestly, I’d be surprised if this wasn’t a suspension in the regular season. Now, though, this isn’t suspension worthy in the playoffs, as the NHL has held a pretty strong line on not enforcing this hit-from-behind stuff. That should change, but for now, the Flyers have their captain in Game 7.
