Saturday, March 24, 2012

Keith Banned, as Sedin Complains of Headaches


NHL picks:

A violent collision between the Chicago Blackhawks' Duncan Keith and Daniel Sedin, of the Vancouver Canucks, left one player facing a five-match ban and the other struggling with headaches.

Sedin took an elbow - Keith's - in the face during Vancouver's 2-1 defeat to the Blackhawks, on Wednesday. The winger is now sidelined with concussion. He is currently laid up in Vancouver, awaiting medical tests.

Keith's ban was the second violence-related suspension to be handed out in almost as many days, after the Phoenix Coyotes' Shane Doan was reprimanded by the NHL for putting the elbow into the head of the Dallas Stars' Jamie Benn.

Sedin is reportedly sore but healthy. “He still had headaches”, Daniel's brother, Henrik, said, on Thursday, “but his overall feeling; it wasn't the same kind of grogginess or dizziness [as immediately after the hit].”

Henrik Sedin offered the warning that many medical textbooks feature with regards to concussion: “Again, who knows, sometimes you feel good for a few days and then it gets worse. It's tough.”

Duncan Keith narrowly escaped a much more serious penalty. He was instructed that he would receive a telephone hearing, which carries the maximum sentence of a five-game ban. However, the NHL later requested that Keith attend a full disciplinary.

He was spared on the grounds that he has just one fine and no suspensions in his last seven seasons. However, league sheriff, Brendan Shanahan, referred to Keith's actions as “dangerous and reckless”.

Keith has been fined $149,688 in lost wages, a sum that will be diverted to the NHL Players' Emergency Assistance Fund, a charity that provides financial aid to former hockey players and officials.

For those looking to bet on hockey these developments should be noted.

No comments:

Post a Comment