ARLINGTON, Va. -- Alex Ovechkin was hoping for more, but Pittsburgh Penguins wing Chris Kunitz will not be suspended by the NHL for his late-game hit to the neck area of Capitals goalie Simeon Varlamov seconds before Sidney Crosby scored his third goal of Game 2 with 30.4 seconds left in the third period.League officials confirmed that the tape has been reviewed.
Tuesday morning Ovechkin called the play "dirty" and said, "I think the League has to do something about it. It's a cheap shot and it's not good for hockey."
Kunitz left the Penguins' locker room at their Washington County practice facility before the media was allowed in.
"It happened so quick you sometimes don't realize it," Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said. "But if you look at the clip and slow it down, I mean, he's aiming right for the throat."
Ovechkin was hoping for some balance in the wake of Donald Brashear's six-game suspension for his high hit on Rangers center Blair Betts in Game 6 against the New York Rangers.
"It's a cheap shot and Brash got six games but why not Kunitz?" Ovechkin said before word came down that Kunitz would not be suspended. "It's all about being fair. It's a serious problem I think."
Varlamov was not hurt on the play. He did not practice Tuesday and when a reporter from the Washington Post asked him where he got hit, Varlamov reportedly pointed to his the area right behind his ear.
"Can you imagine if he gave (Varlamov) an injury, what are we going to do?" Ovechkin said. "If it's not going to be called it's going to be a terrible decision and I'm going to be (mad) about it."
Contact Dan Rosen at [email protected]
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