NHL’s Leading Scorer Suspended for Two Games. Sportsbook odds are going to be impacted on the Washington Capitals for the next couple of games as they will be without Alex Ovechkin. The NHL’s leading scorer was suspended for two games for his hit on Chicago’s Brian Campbell on Sunday. The Capitals will still be favored at the sportsbook but not by as much.
Sportsbook scheduling has the Capitals playing at Florida on Tuesday and at Carolina on Thursday. The suspension will cost Ovechkin almost a quarter of a million dollars in salary. Washington will get Ovechkin back into the lineup for their game on Saturday at Tampa Bay.
The hit that Ovechkin was suspended for was a bad one that took Chicago’s Brian Campbell out of Sunday’s game. Since the game was seen nationally on NBC many people saw the hit. It forced Campbell into the boards and came from behind. Campbell suffered a broken clavicle and at least one broken rib. He could be out for the rest of the regular season and that would be a big loss for Chicago in terms of sportsbook results.
The Capitals didn’t have much to say about the incident. “We have no problem with the way Alex tried to finish his check,” GM George McPhee said, “Unfortunately, an injury resulted. We are disappointed with the suspension but do not want to comment further.” The Capitals should be happy he wasn’t suspended for a lot longer.
The sad part about the entire incident is that it didn’t have to happen. Ovechkin made a stupid play and is going to pay for it. If he wasn’t one of the most popular players in the NHL his suspension would have been longer. The NHL is having a very tough time this season with hits to the head and hits from behind. They have not figured out when to suspend players and when not to. Matt Cooke wasn’t suspended for his hit to Marc Savard when he should have been. Ovechkin was basically given a slap on the wrist for his hit that put Campbell out for the season. Sportsbook information notes that this is not the first time Ovechkin has done this type of thing. The NHL called the hit by Ovechkin “reckless.” It should be labeled stupid as well. Ovechkin simply doesn’t care about the welfare of other players and the league hasn’t cracked down enough to make him care. Ovechkin leads the NHL in game misconducts so he is obviously not getting the message. Maybe a 10-game suspension would get his attention next time.