Almost immediately after making the decision to give Brooks Orpik a three-game suspension, the NHL will have to rule on a similar hit from Kris Letang on Marcus Johansson. Letang picked up a two-minute penalty for interference, but should the league do more?
Here’s the hit:
The first argument should be over whether or not the hit was late.
Bob McKenzie perfectly broke the hit down and compared it to the one which earned Orpik a three-game sentence.
FWIW, Letang on MJ90 was 19 digital frames from release of puck to contact. 30 frames in 1 second. So .63 of a second.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) May 3, 2016
By comparison, Orpik on Maatta was 31 digital frames, or a full second and a bit. That was extraordinarily late by NHL standards.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) May 3, 2016
Anything over. 50 of a second gets a look but other factors come into play. In this case, issue is contact to head, potential launching.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) May 3, 2016
If Letang is suspended, it is much more likely to be on basis of rule 48 head contact as opposed to interference.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) May 3, 2016
In other words, the hit was just barely late by NHL standards which means Letang likely won’t receive a punishment due to how late the hit was. However, he might still be disciplined if the NHL believes the Johansson’s head was the main point of contact.
Is there enough of a lunge upward from Letang to warrant additional discipline? Did he jump or was he elevating because of the contact from the hit? Contact is clearly made with the head/chin of Johansson, but it’s difficult to tell if Letang intentionally tried to make contact or if it was incidental.
The NHL has placed themselves in a difficult spot because they’ve been so inconsistent on plays like these in the past. As a result, there’s no obvious answer on whether Letang will be suspended or not. Capitals fans will want retribution after the Orpik decision, but this one could really go either way.
