To Suspend or Not To Suspend?
Roy Goes Nuclear After Rantanen’s Dirty Hit..
with just 27.3 seconds left in what should have been a routine 3–2 Islanders victory over the Stars, Mikko Rantanen decided to throw one of the more gutless hits we’ve seen all season. Rantanen drove Alexander Romanov face-first into the end boards with a vicious shove from behind. Romanov’s numbers were facing Rantanen the entire way.
As Rantanen skated toward the tunnel—after receiving a well-deserved five-minute major and game misconduct—Patrick Roy absolutely lost it. Ice-level microphones picked up Roy screaming at the Stars forward, and alluding to the next time Mikko and the Stars come to New York, saying: “You’re not going to f—ing finish that game.”
In his post-game presser, Roy didn’t back down for a second. He called Rantanen’s hit “disrespectful to our guys,” and he’s absolutely right. This wasn’t a hockey play. This wasn’t two guys battling for position or an unfortunate collision. This was a star player on a losing team deciding to take a run at an opponent whose back was turned.
Roy went on: “When you see the number, you have to lay off. Everybody knows that. You don’t go through the guy.” You don’t hit a guy from behind when he’s defenseless and heading toward the boards at full speed.
Roy even gave Rantanen the benefit of the doubt, noting that he was in Colorado when the Stars forward was drafted and that “it’s not his style.” But style or not, intent or not, the result is the same: Romanov needed help getting off the ice, and the Islanders may now be without one of their top defensemen.
It sounds like the always-consistent NHL Department of Player Safety will not be handing out any supplemental discipline for Rantanen. In fact, according to league sources, it sounds like Roy may actually be the one in more trouble here. That next game in New York is going to be an interesting one… and watched very closely.
Here are the videos of the hit and Roy’s reaction — you decide.