It's been a good season for the Anaheim Ducks thus far. If not for the Chicago Blackhawks, and perhaps the Montreal Canadiens, they'd be the toast of the town. Their spot in the playoffs is pretty much locked up. They got Ryan Getzlaf signed to a new, maybe pricey but we will have to wait to find out, deal. However, they've been dealt a minor blow, although it's one that should come as no surprise and is fully the fault of one of their players. Corey Perry has been suspended four games for a late hit.
When I saw Perry's name trending on the Twitter on Tuesday, I figured the reason for it was as likely to be something like this than anything else. He's a great player, but he's also a somewhat dirty player, and he has a history of ugly moments. It's part of why I kind of dislike the Ducks as a team. While Teemu Selanne is awesome and friend to all children, they also have three great players in Getzlaf, Perry, and Bobby Ryan who I can't stand in terms of how they play. They get my goat, as it were.
However, this is more serious than Perry's usual antics. He was given a major penalty and a game misconduct for his late hit to Minnesota's Jason Zucker on Tuesday. It was ugly. Perry is also a repeat offender, as he got a four game suspension for an elbow to the head of Claude Giroux in 2009.
Not having Perry for four games hurts the Ducks, obviously. He's a great player who's been picking up his play recently. However, it's only four games, even in a shortened season, and they've already done so well they can afford a minor slip up. Perry did something dumb and awful that is not out of character for him. He's been suspended for it. Hopefully Zucker is OK. That about sums it up.
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