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Alex Ovechkin deserved a suspension for his hit on Pittsburgh’s Zbynek Michalek. Three games? Too much.
But Ovechkin’s reaction — to skip the all-star game — is also too much. Like a petulant child, Ovechkin will take his puck and go home. He’ll hold his breath till he turns blue. He’ll show them! And all the other ridiculous things children say and do when punished.
Except Ovechkin is a grown man. At least grown enough to put quite a smack on Michalek’s noggin along the boards. He didn’t receive a penalty during the game, but Brendan Shanahan, the uber-janitor of the NHL, committed to cleaning up dirty hits and especially to preventing head injuries — both laudable goals — stepped in and suspended him.
And ...
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