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Originally Posted by mckendo83
This hit wasnt the same as neal on giroux - why does everyone keep saying that, neals was a charge to the head open ice - pretty sure giroux took zubrus out with a shoulder along the boards sideways , didnt leave his feet or anything. How does girouxs shoulder reach zubrus the oak tree's head anyway
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There's a lot of things that can make a hit suspendable nowadays, not just whether a guy leaves his feet.
While Giroux didn't leave his feet or throw his elbow, this was still a pretty good example of the type of hit the NHL has been trying to crack down on for a couple seasons now. They originally made the rule, prior to including all checks to the head, that specifically banned headshots that came from a blindside or lateral angle (in response to Cooke on Savard, etc). In this case, Giroux cut across from the lateral side and delivers a check to the head of Zubrus that seems like a pretty good example of that lateral or blindside hit that was a potentially suspendable offense even before this season.
And Giroux's shoulder reaches Zubrus's head because he clearly threw the hit in a rising fashion that went after his head. The size differential makes it look a lot worse. It wasn't a smart play, especially given the obvious anger he was directed at the official just a few seconds before the check. It really suggests that he threw a reckless check out of anger.
Say what you will about the inconsistency of the league when it comes to suspending star players, but this one doesn't really seem like a hard decision given that he threw an obviously upward-directed check from a somewhat blindside position.
Huge loss for the Flyers though.