In the final seconds of the Nashville Predators' 3-2 Game 1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings, Henrik Zetterberg of the Wings went to the corner hard, hitting Shea Weber in the back to jar the puck loose. Weber, his team already short-handed, attempted to punch Zetterberg in the back of the head and missed, striking the glass.
He made up for it by grabbing the Red Wings forward and slamming his helmeted head into the glass. Yikes:
No word if the crowd counted along every time Weber slammed Zetterberg's head, or if he later attempted to eat the turnbuckle a la George The Animal Steele. Weber was given a two-minute roughing penalty (for the punch) at 20:00 of the third period.
Will this result in supplemental discipline from Brendan Shanahan and the Dept. of Player Safety? If so, he's a repeat offender: Fined $2,500 in October 2011 for a boarding penalty on Jannik Hansen of the Canucks.
It was an intentional play, a brutal play, an uncalled-for play and an unsportsmanlike play. It's an ugly play unbecoming of a captain or one of the NHL's best defensemen, on the league's biggest stage. Even if it doesn't result in an injury, it should result in Shea Weber missing Game 2. It was a titanically stupid play.
UPDATE: From Sportsnet's very plugged in John Shannon: "Suspect the hit by Weber on Zetterberg will be reviewed, but big #6 won't miss any time."
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