Ducks defender will miss game 4

Ducks defensemen, Chris Pronger, suspended for crushing Thomas Holstrom Tuesday. The Ducks were outplayed on Tuesday against the Red Wings and Pronger let it be known that the Ducks were going to fire back physically. Isn’t hockey supposed to be a physical sport? Apparently the NHL allows checking and fighting, but when does it go too far? When a player maliciously slams another player into the glass? In other words, checking is not allowed any longer. At least, it is not allowed when victim spills blood.

Hockey is an interesting sport. When a team is losing, it must flex some power by playing physical. This is how every game turns out. If it is a blow out, expect to see fireworks! The replay clearly shows that the two Duck defensemen were merely checking Holstrom into the boards. They were playing physical, but I did not see malicious intent. Take a look at the video: (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/playoffs2007/news/story?id=2872561 ). I still have a hard time seeing the elbow, but it’s a playoff game. Expect it!

Hopefully the Ducks can use this incident to gain some momentum on their side to tie the series. As of now, they are down 2-1.