The Stars are down 2-0 and before the very end of last night’s game, they decided they were going to make the Red Wings feel it before heading back to Dallas.
With about five seconds left, Steve Ott went after Kris Draper, giving him a shot before having the scrum broken up and Ott being escorted off the ice.
The Stars won the ensuing faceoff and Sergei Zubov shot the puck in the Wings zone. Mike Ribeiro skated after the puck, and Chris Osgood gave him a bump with the butt-end of his stick. Draper tried to grab onto Ribeiro, but before a scrum could even develop Ribeiro gave Osgood a two-hander to the chest.
Ribeiro received an attempt to injure match penalty, meaning he’s already suspended pending league review. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s unlikely he’ll see any further playoff action. It seems harsh, but the Wings are already up by two and the highlight of Ribeiro swinging his stick with both hands will be replayed over and over. There will be media pressure on the league, no doubt.
Draper, involved in all of the action at game’s end, wasn’t concerned about Ott, just Ribeiro:
“I’m fine with that,” Draper said of the Ott assault. “He threw a punch at me.
“No harm done. You get up and you go. But something like (the slash on Osgood), that’s right out of Slap Shot. (Ribeiro) just literally . . . intent to injure on our best player. I couldn’t believe it when he did it.”
Osgood said of his butt-end:
“If it did, it was an accident,” he said. “I don’t think it justifies a two-hander over the top of the net.”
And of the slash:
“I do have a lot of padding up there but it got me in the side where I didn’t have much,” he said of the Ribeiro slash. “It did hurt a bit.
“It was kind of a full swing right to the side. But I’ll be fine, I’m sure. A little sore, but I’ll be fine.”
Dominik Hasek didn’t play last night, but his presence was felt when Osgood flopped to the ice like a fish when slashed, only to be up and fine a minute later. No one expects a slash like that to tickle, but it did seem like overkill.
While we were all looking at the Flyers-Pens series for the war, the Stars and Wings are now sharing the battle spotlight.
Tonight’s game
Philadelphia Flyers vs Pittsburgh Penguins 7:30 PM ET
Some reads
ESPN: Don Cherry Breaks Down The NHL Playoffs
Stars’ Ott stirs the pot
Flyers playoff goalies from Bernie Parent to Marty Biron
Penguins-Flyers series a war? That’s the idea
Series puts rivalry in state of frenzy
NHL needs to be body slammed (the gist of this is something I’ve written myself quite a few times)
Flyers’ Upshall is feisty and talented
Landing an OHL job doesn’t mean you’ll make the NHL
Roberts: Physical play, fights can shift momentum
Goons on parade: Cote and Laraque
Oilers reincarnated
MLSE suits are still calling all the shots
Cote’s call to arms
What does the future hold for Dan Carcillo?
