Report: Ribeiro Will Not Be Suspended

Filed under: Dallas, Detroit, General NHL, Wings, Stars, NHL FightsMuch has been made of the end-of-game incident Saturday involving Mike Ribeiro of the Dallas Stars and Chris Osgood of the Detroit Red Wings.As the Wings' 2-1 win closed out, Osgood appeared to put his stick out in an effort to butt-end Ribeiro. The Star forward responded with a two-hand chop across the top of the net, which Osgood sold as if a sniper in the fifth row of the upper deck had just picked him off.TSN is reporting that neither player will be suspended, but fines were levied against both. Dallas' Steve Ott was also fined for his attack of Detroit's Kris Draper after the official let him (Draper) get away with faceoff interference. In the end, discretion on the NHL's part is the right move. Suspending Ribeiro probably would have required a suspension of the obvious instigator, Osgood. And I'm pretty sure the league doesn't want to suspend a goaltender who is 8-0 so far in the playoffs.Game Three should be interesting Monday night in Dallas. Typically, a player who two-hands a goaltender the way Ribeiro did would be required to pay for his sin at some point. However, it's the playoffs. Such redemption may have to wait until October, when the games aren't quite as meaningful.Permalink | Email this | Comments more...