October 22, 2015
This one sure won’t sit well with Flyers fans.
The Department of Player Safety has made its official decision on Zac Rinaldo’s hit on Sean Couturier from Wednesday night’s Flyers-Bruins game and has deemed there won’t be any supplemental punishment. Check out the full explanation here:
Come on, Pronger! In the video above, it is explained that Rinaldo’s hit “passed” four criteria where the department was looking for an infraction. According to the video:
• It wasn’t elbowing, because Rinaldo’s arm was tucked close to his body.
• It wasn’t interference, because Couturier got rid of the puck after Rinaldo had begun to initiate his check.
• It wasn’t a check to the head, because Rinaldo mainly made contact with Couturier’s body.
• It wasn’t charging, because Rinaldo didn’t launch into Couturier in an excessive manner.
Here’s my main question: How can you support the call made by the official (charging), and then say it’s not charging two minutes later? I guess there can be wiggle room... but should there be?
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
