It's been a little while since Brendan Shanahan and the Shanavengers have had to assemble to assess a dirty hit, especially compared to the first round where they may as well have installed cots in the office. But Rotislav Klesla's hit on Nashville's Matt Halischuk will likely end their brief time off.
Midway through the first period of Game 4 between the Phoenix Coyotes and the Nashville Predators, Klesla chased Halischuk to a loose puck at the side boards. Then he shoved the Predators' winger into those boards, head first.
Halischuk would stay in the game, and Klesla would only see a two-minute minor penalty for boarding.
But will additional discipline come after the game?
There's definitely a precedent for it. Shanahan made his opinions on this play very clear when he suspended Chris Stewart of the St. Louis Blues 3 games for a near-identical hit on Niklas Kronwall:
Stewart had no discipline history and, just like the hit on Halischuk above, Kronwall was miraculously uninjured on the play, so the punishment wasn't exacerbated by any secondary factors.
I don't see enough of a difference between Klesla's hit and the Stewart hit to say there will be no supplemental discipline, but I'm sure the postseason will split the ban in half and round it down, so I'm saying one game.
I'm also saying that, in the suspension video, Shanahan will say these exact words: The onus is on Klesla to minimize contact or avoid this hit entirely.
Agree or disagree?