Instead of missing three regular season games, it appears that Brian Campbell will miss at least the rest of the regular season with a broken collarbone from the much discussed hit on Sunday. Here’s the word from Second City Hockey.
He’ll likely miss the regular season and could miss some significant time in the post-season too. The Hawks power play will certainly suffer in the meantime (if that’s possible) but the real problem we’re going to see is the transition game for the Blackhawks. As Sam noted in the game recap - the Hawks absolutely need a defenseman that can get the play going towards the opponents net - and Campbell is that guy. Expect Kim Johnsson to log some bigger minutes now that Campbell is gone for a while.
After giving it some thought, I originally assumed that Alex Ovechkin would get off without a suspension and that still could be the case. No doubt about it, though, serious injuries bring these situations into the spotlight. Hopefully Campbell will recover in time for the playoffs. I’m not so sure though.
So, what’s your take, hockey fans? Should Ovechkin get a slap on the wrist or was a game misconduct and five minute penalty sufficient enough?