Rangers News: No Suspension for Rick Nash

According to Katie Strang and several other sources Rick Nash will not miss any games due to suspension from his hit/collision with Florida Panther forward Tomas Kopecky.

Katie Strang ‏@KatieStrangESPN

#NYR No supplementary discipline for Rick Nash for last night's hit on FLA's Tomas Kopecky

It is important to note that Nash didn't receive a penalty on the play but there is no escaping the fact that his elbow hit the back of Tomas Kopecky's head (it may have hit him in the shoulders first but contact was made with Kopecky's head). Kopecky was able to return to the game (without injury) after the collision and eventually scored a shorthanded empty net goal for Florida.

When someone as big as Nash is moving as fast as he was it certainly isn't easy for him to stop on a dime. The collision was absolutely dangerous though it looks like it was not Nash's intention to collide with Kopecky or hit him in the back of the head. That being said one could easily call what Nash did "reckless" though there is plenty of room for debate on how much time he had to react and to try and avoid crashing into Kopecky.

I am not sure why Nash leaves his feet the way he does, perhaps he is trying to jump "around" Kopecky but it certainly looks clumsy, reckless, and very dangerous upon repeated viewings. Kopecky was in a completely defenseless position and he didn't see Nash coming.

Any hit to another player's head has to be taken very, very seriously whether or not it was accidental or a freak play. It is important to note that Nash has never had any supplementary discipline in the past, so plays like this aren't very common for him. To me, it looks like the Rangers got away with one.

What do you guys think, did the Rangers and Rick Nash dodge a bullet here and get away with one? Did the Department of Player Safety make the right call?

Have at it in the comments.