By Allan Muir

No matter what happens in Monday’s Game 4 against the Ducks, the Red Wings know they’ll be flying to Anaheim for Game 5.

What they don’t know is if Justin Abdelkader will be headed to SoCal with them.

After his vicious hit on Anaheim defender Toni Lydman late in the second period of Saturday’s 4-0 win by the Ducks, Abdelkader is about to become the third player to receive a suspension during this postseason

Not a lot of grey area with this jaw-droppingly stupid play. Abdelkader charges in from a distance of about 30 feet, leaps into the air prior to contact, and slams his shoulder directly into Lydman’s head. It’s so clear cut, it’s almost like he was trying out for a part in the next “Don’t Do What Donny Don’t Does” video.

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By Allan Muir

Pretty much everyone who saw Lars Eller lying face down in a pool of his own blood on Thursday night was horrified by the results of Eric Gryba’s devastating open ice hit. But there weren’t many, outside of Montreal loyalists who looked at that collision and thought it was the sort of play that needed to be eliminated from the NHL.

Apparently that number swelled by at least one today as the Ottawa defender was handed a two-game suspension by Brendan Shanahan for what he called an “illegal check to the head of Eller.”

No doubt this was a tough call for the NHL’s chief disciplinarian. Arguably the toughest he’d faced all season. Despite the injury suffered by Eller, there was no black or white in this incident. Watch the replay a dozen times and you won’t see incontrovertible proof of Eller’s head being the primary point of contact – -or of an innocent hit gone awry — unless that’s exactly what you’re looking to see.

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By Allan Muir

Two days into the NHL playoffs and the wheels of justice already are turnin’.

Multiple sources are reporting that Boston Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference faces a hearing with the Department of Player Safety this afternoon at 2 p.m. EDT to discuss an elbow he allegedly delivered to the head of Toronto’s Mikhail Grabovski on Wednesday night.

Well, maybe not so allegedly. See for yourself:

Ference wasn’t penalized on the play. Grabovski, however, was forced to spend some time in the quiet room before being allowed to return to the contest.

Pretty tough for Ference to defend himself here, so I have to believe that Shanahan will sit him for a game, possibly two, as a result. That likely would lead to Dougie Hamilton drawing in for the Bruins in Game 2 tomorrow night.

No word yet on whether New York Islanders’ center Marty Reasoner will earn a sit down with Shanny for his cheapshot on Pittsburgh’s Jussi Jokinen in their series opener last night, although Arthur Staple of Newsday says he doesn’t see one forthcoming. Can’t argue with his point — the contact wasn’t knee-on-knee — but it was clearly reckless and caused an injury (though we don’t yet know the extent).

Given how quickly the league reacted to the Ference incident, it could be safe to assume that Reasoner is in the clear if we don’t hear something in the next hour or so.

By Allan Muir

There’s nothing wrong with a player protecting himself. Brendan Shanahan pretty much called it an inalienable right in the video explaining defensive contact to the head that the league released just a couple of weeks back.

But, as with most things, there’s a right way to go about it and a wrong way. And dissuading an opponent by leading with your elbow, Gordie Howe-style? Yeah, that’s going to get you hauled in front of Sheriff Shanny, a man who is unlikely to accept a plea of “old-time hockey.”

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By Allan Muir

A five-game suspension for Ryan White? Now we’re starting to get somewhere.

Montreal’s blunt object was banished to the sidelines for all but the final game of the regular season by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety after a flat-out stupid hit on Philadelphia’s Kent Huskins on Monday night.

It probably didn’t take too many video reviews for Brendan Shanahan and crew to recognize that this was one of the easier calls they’ve faced this season. Huskins was skating the puck out from behind his own net and had just dished it off when White drew a bead on him, then slammed his shoulder directly into Huskins’ chin. The force of the blow left Huskins with a concussion.

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By Allan Muir

The way Brendan Shanahan saw it, Anton Volchenkov had a choice. With Brad Marchand squarely in his sights, he could have blasted the Boston winger with a legal check, or he could have done something stupid.

Volchenkov went with Plan B. And so the New Jersey defender will sit out four critical stretch games.

Shanahan’s video explanation captured what everyone who watched the play saw. This was a cheap shot that could, and should, have been avoided.

“Rather than make a full body check, Volchenkov extends his elbow, making significant contact to the side of Marchand’s head,” Shanahan said. “Although Marchand…is stopping and turning his head away from Volchenkov to avoid the full force of the impending check, that doesn’t contribute or explain the reckless elbow contact to the head on what could’ve been a legal collision. He sees Marchand clearly, and if anything, Marchand’s actions just prior to contact forced Volchenkov to extend his elbow even further.”

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By Allan Muir

Chances are that Devils defenseman Anton Volchenkov has earned a few days off at a time when his floundering team, losers of eight straight, can least afford his absence.

Anton Volchenkov earned a five-minute major and a game misconduct for delivering a vicious elbow to the head of Bruins forward midway through a 5-4 Boston win on Wednesday night.

Of course, the Bruins can’t afford to lose their leading goal scorer, either. And that should be clearly addressed by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety on Thursday.

It’s tough to imagine DOPS watching this video and not burying Volchenkov for this flagrant cheap shot. He didn’t just lead with his elbow. He had it up early. Really early. Hard to argue accidental contact here. Add in that Marchand was injured on the play and didn’t return to action, and Volchenkov looks cooked.

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By Allan Muir

Apparently the “He hit me first!” defense does work any better with Sheriff Shanny than it does on the average parent.

San Jose defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic trotted out the old chestnut, but was still fined the maximum allowable under the CBA ($8,378.38) for slashing Minnesota’s Dany Heatley after the final buzzer of Wednesday night’s 4-2 Sharks win.

Vlasic was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct on the play that saw Heatley swing his stick (and miss) first, prompting Vlasic to showcase his superior aim. They always get the retaliator, don’t they?

Heatley suffered an injury, but he told the Department of Player Safety that it occurred in the ensuing scrum and not as a result of Vlasic’s slash. That probably helped Vlasic’s case.

The crazy amount of the fine actually has a basis. As a first-time offender, Vlasic could be fined the lesser of ten grand or half his daily salary.

By Allan Muir

If the NHL’s Department of Player Safety updates their instructional videos over the summer, Nate Thompson might want to request a copy for posterity. There’s a better than zero chance the Tampa Bay forward will have a starring role.

Thompson was dinged Saturday afternoon for two games after delivering a textbook head shot on New Jersey’s Matt D’Agostini on Friday night.

Hard to believe he was able to mount much of a defense. The case was a clear violation of Rule 48. As Sheriff Shanny noted, Thompson “recklessly target[ed] D’Agostini’s head by extending up and making it the principle point of contact.”

The evidence was pretty damning — I mean, Thompson was eyeing his target all the way and clearly had the chance to use the body instead of throwing a brutally obvious elbow — but D’Agostini wasn’t hurt on the play. And since that element clearly weighs heavily in all DPS deliberations, there wasn’t going to be a book thrown today.

Not sure a message has been sent here, but it was far from the dirtiest hit of the year. Since five of the previous 12 suspensions this season have gone for a pair of games, this call is probably just about right.

By Allan Muir

It didn’t take long for the NHL’s Department of Player Safety to schedule a come-to-Jesus meeting with Alex Edler after the Vancouver defender steamrolled Phoenix goalie Mike Smith on Thursday night. By early Friday morning, Edler knew he would have a chance to plead his case over the phone at 6 PM EDT.

Edler’s defense, of course, will fail to dissuade Sheriff Shanny from planting him in the press box for a couple of games. Charging into goalies at full speed, even when they’re out of the crease, is still frowned upon by the DPS.

Leaping up and slamming into an opponent’s head from behind though? That’s still a bit of a grey area. Or so it would seem, given the curious decision not to subject Rick Nash to a supplemental discipline hearing for his brain-dead assault on Florida’s Tomas Kopecky earlier in the evening.

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