The best angle on this hit by Tom Sestito of the Philadelphia Flyers on Andre Deveaux of the New York Rangers is at the 1:25 mark. Deveaux gets up to play the puck, facing the end boards. Sestito comes rocketing in, hits him between the numbers and crushes him against the glass. Ouch:
Sestito, formerly of the Columbus Blue Jackets, was given a 5-minute boarding major, 5 minutes for fighting and a game misconduct at 7:52 of the first period. Deveaux ended up playing 12:55 for the game, which the Flyers won 5-3.
From Tim Panaccio of CSN Philly:
"I don't consider myself a dirty player but I finish my checks," Sestito said. "Hopefully, it wasn't that bad … We were in on the forecheck and I was just trying to get there as fast as I could."
It was far worse that Shelley's hit on Toronto's Darryl Boyce last week. And based on the evidence at hand in comparing the two, if Shelley's hit was worth ten games, than Sestito's could equal it.
There's no denying that (a) the Flyers were on the forecheck and (b) Sestito certainly got there as fast as he could. Now, as for that dirty player thing ... well, he's not the repeat offender Shelley was, having ducked a suspension last season. So despite the hit, 10 games for it would be unlikely.
Still, it's a surprise to see someone that was so outraged by Floyd Mayweather land such a cheap shot.