Flyers-Panthers: Philadelphia Wins, Mike Richards May Face Suspension

Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter

Coming off a 4-2 loss to the Florida Panthers the week before, the Philadelphia Flyers went into Saturday nights game against the Panthers with one thing on their minds, “revenge”, something they accomplished with a 5-1 win.

The Flyers Daniel Briere scored a pair of goals, Jeff Carter and Chris Pronger netted two assists apiece, Simon Gagne scored his first goal of the season, albeit on the power play, and Rookie James Van Riemsdyk scored his inaugural goal. To coin a phrase, it was “all good.”

On the surface, it would appear as if everything was going well for the Flyers. They dominated the scoreboard, Flyers goaltender Ray Emery made some tricky saves, the Flyers forwards threw 38 shots at the Panthers net, and, for the most part, the Flyers dominated the play...and then came the hit.

With 2:55 remaining in the second period, the Flyers' Mike Richards came across the ice open ice and, seemingly trying to finish his check, nailed the Panthers David Booth in the head with his shoulder pad.

Some are writing that it was a dirty hit, others are stating it was Booth’s fault for admiring his pass. The truth, I suspect, is somewhere in the middle.

Richards is not known as a “dirty player” and, on this hit anyways, it would seem as if his reputation holds up. Richards never left his feet when he laid Booth out and, judging by all the replay’s, it would appear as if Richards was trying to hit Booth shoulder on shoulder; trouble is, it turned out to be a head shot.

Did Richards intend on hitting Booth in the head? Was he intent on sending Booth to the hospital? No. That said, the fact is, as a result of Richards’ actions, Booth was taken off the ice on a stretcher and, no matter how you slice it, Richards has to take some responsibility for that and will likely face suspension.

The problem is not that Richards hit booth; that is a part of his job. The problem isn’t that Richards was head hunting; he was not. The problem was that Richards missed his intended target, the shoulder, and nailed Booth’s head instead.

When you observe the play, you can see Richards has Booth lined up and, just as Booth dished off the puck, Richards crossed the blue line and attempted to finish his check. This coincided with Booth turning his head, and voila! With a full head of speed and with no way to let up, Richards caught Booth in the head.

To be fair, Booth never saw Richards coming and, from my observation, Richards had no chance to avoid the hit; he was already committed and was not in the position to let up or avoid Booth. To sum it up, it was an unfortunate set of circumstances that led to Booth being KO’d, not malice on Richards’s part.

I don't think Richards intended on hitting Booth in the head, but the fact remains, Richards did hit Booth in the head and Booth was KO'd, and for that, Richards will likely face a suspension.

That said, it was a scary moment for the fans and players, one which saw Booth, who was knocked out by the impact of the hit, lay motionless on the ice, surrounded by a pool of his own blood. It was a terrifying scene, the kind that every coach and player prays they never see.

For his part, Richards made the following statement regarding the hit:

“I just seen him with the puck, I was just trying to eliminate him from the puck. He dished it off. It happened so quickly, it’s hard to explain. I don’t know (whether it’s legal). I was just trying to separate him from the puck and he moved or turned. I don’t have a history of head shots or anything like that. It happened too quickly.”

The Panthers Assistant General Manager had a different take on the incident, stating, “I thought it was a late hit and dirty hit, these types of hits have no place in the game. I didn't see the hit live. I was making a note on my game report, but I knew when they didn't show the replay it wasn't pretty.”

The NHL has been trying to crack down on “head shots.” On the surface, it would not appear as if Richards was in fact head hunting, but the end result and the gruesome replay, may very well see Richards receive some discipline from the NHL's Colin Campbell.

Truth be told, it could go either way. Richards does not have a reputation for dirty hits, but his actions led to Booth being taken off the ice on a stretcher and sent to hospital, so you know the NHL will look at the incident very closely.

In the end, it appears as if Booth will be alright and, in the long run, that’s all that really matters, right?

Until next time,

Peace!