Great explanation.
Wow, i did not realize that his head rotated to the left so much...can't believe there was not a concussion. Tangy's a tough dude.
If it was Cooke, it would have been a 10 game suspension and a $25K fine.

This was eerily reminiscent of the Cooke on Savard hit on 3/7/10. I was instantly sick to my stomach thinking that Letang could be in for similar long-term issues like those with which Savard has been struggling.

Similarities to Cooke/Savard:

- hit just after release of shot.
- impact point middle of ice in high slot.
- checker's left shoulder hit right side of shooter's head.

Differences:

- Letang is a right shot; Savard a left.
- Letang carried the puck into the zone with speed; Savard received a pass and was more or less stationary.
- Cooke/Savard was pre-Rule 48.

Since both Cooke and Pacioretty were coming from the skater's right, this means Letang at least had some idea Pacioretty was coming in for a hit; whereas Savard's back was to Cooke until the last second.

Both were scary incidents. It was good that Pacioretty apologized immediately, and I can buy that he was just trying to finish his check and it was a good hit gone wrong due to slightly off timing. Interesting to consider how that logic would apply to the Cooke/Savard incident...

Bottom line, given the current rules and Shanahan's explanation, plus Pacioretty's clean history, 3 games seems fair. Hopefully this incident will help educate players and make them a bit more careful to take the body rather than the head on future checks.

How about Neal getting the top fine of $2,500 for his stick hitting Suban after Suban kicked his leg out from under him to cause him to fall. Ridiculous !! These Canadians really work the NHL over like the Mafia. The problem is, these teams are just about powerless over doing anything about it.