Ovechkin gets a two game suspension for likely ending Campbell's season

Alex Ovechkin's dirty hit on the Blackhawks' Brian Campbell (video below)- a hit which broke Campbell's clavicle and ribs and probably ended his season- has earned him a two-game suspension.



A Maple Leafs fan I know called Ovechkin's blindsiding of Campbell "flat out dirty." The on-line reaction among Caps fans seems to echo that of the Washington management: that the hit was no big deal, and that Ovechkin really didn't do anything wrong. Some have even suggested that Campbell took a dive!

Personally, I think ten games would have been more appropriate, especially given the fact that Ovechkin is a repeat offender. Two days earlier, he'd been given a previous match misconduct for kneeing Tim Gleason of Carolina (see video below).



Ovechkin may be the NHL's leading scorer, but that doesn't mean he should be treated any differently from any other NHL player who begins to display a pattern of dirty play.

Contrition? Ovechkin's response to Campbell's injury was this: "There's nothing I can do right now. He just fell and this happens."