This is a perfect example of the code working in professional hockey. L.A. King Dustin Brown lays a dirty hit on Dallas Star's forward Mike Ribeiro. Brenden Morrow exception to this dirty hit and comes to the aid of his teammate. The response to the hit is Brenden Morrow fights Dustin Brown. The incident is over and Brown pays for his objectionable act.
The league could have suspended Brendan Morrow for one game for getting an instigator penalty and into a fight with under five minutes to play in a game. The league made the right decision and decided that it would not suspend Morrow because of Brown's dirty hit on Ribeiro.
Here is the rule as defined by the Dallas News
Rules state that instigating a fight in the final five minutes carries an automatic one-game suspension and a $10,000 fine to the coach. The rule was implemented to deter coaches from sending out goons to administer frontier justice. The league rescinds such penalties if it is determined they were within the "spirit of the game."
Brown received a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct after his check sent Ribeiro headfirst into the boards. Ribeiro, off balance after taking a shot, took 10 stitches above his left eye and then scored in the shootout on a highlight-reel play. Morrow also received a game misconduct.
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