You can expect league officials to look closely at Slava Kozlov’s hit from Tuesday night.
THN.com
Ken Campbell
2009-10-21 11:45:00
Slava Kozlov doesn’t exactly fit the profile of an on-ice menace, but NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell should treat him like one when looking at Kozlov’s cross-check from behind on Scott Gomez Tuesday night.
If the NHL is serious about curbing dangerous hits from behind, Campbell must suspend Kozlov and must have him sit out for a significant amount of time. Five games would be a nice place to start.
Gomez wasn’t even hurt on the play and, in fact, immediately turned around and began punching Kozlov in retribution. But that wasn’t the point.
The point is that as hard as you look, you may never find a more textbook example of a flagrant hit from behind on a vulnerable opponent than Kozlov’s cross-check on Gomez. There was absolutely no grey area on this one. Hit-from-behind apologists like to talk about players turning their backs on a hit, but that clearly was not the case here. Gomez was clearly going for a puck along the boards and Kozlov could see the numbers on his back, but that did not prevent Kozlov from pushing Gomez headfirst into the boards.
Was it a dirty play? We’ll give Kozlov the benefit of the doubt and say no. But was it a reckless one? You’d better believe it. Having that egregious disregard for your opponent is every bit as bad as having an intent to injure him.
And that’s why Campbell has to come down hard on Kozlov. You’re never going to find a more clear example of the kind of hit the NHL wants to take out of the game and Campbell will probably never have as good a chance to show the league means business.