Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Debate swirls around Giordano hit on Aho, fight with Williams

kx3hvgSqzxVA
Flames defenseman Mark Giordano was ejected for his hit on Hurricanes winger Sebastian Aho, but Keith Jones doesn't think he will be suspended.

There are plenty of questions following Mark Giordano’s hit on Sebastian Aho, and his subsequent fight with Justin Williams.

Giordano was ejected from the game and received a five-minute major for the hit, which didn’t ultimately cost the Calgary Flames much in-game, as they ultimately beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1. The first questions start to swirl about that check: should more punishment come?

As you can see in the video above this post’s headline, Keith Jones and others believe that it was either a clean hit or that the major was enough. The debate goes both ways, however, with others calling for a suspension.

Considering Aho’s rise as a scoring star with the Hurricanes, there are worries that he was injured. As Hurricanes head coach Bill Peters notes, there are worries about a head injury and possibly a knee injury. Peters also noted that there was head contact but didn’t exactly scorch Giordano with his assessment of the check.

“They’re talking about his knee a little bit, too, so there’s lots getting looked at,” Peters said, via Michael Smith of the team website. “I’m sure we’ll know a little bit more later.”

Beyond that, some wonder if the Hurricanes failed in responding to the hit, both in the moment and on the scoreboard.

Ouch.

Either way, this game highlighted the divergent paths for these two teams. On one hand, the Flames have now won seven games in a row. Meanwhile, the Hurricanes have dropped two in a row and only have two wins in their last eight contests (2-5-1). Not ideal for a team locked into competitive Metropolitan Division playoff races.

Losing Aho for an extended duration of time would only make matters worse.


James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.