he ruling on the ice stands.
New York defenceman Marc Staal(notes) went unpenalized Monday night for crushing Calgary Flames centre Matt Stajan(notes) with an open-ice hit just inside the Rangers blueline.
Staal caught Stajan looking the other way, just after he dished off the puck. Somehow, Stajan crawled to his feet and staggered off the ice with the help of teammate Tim Jackman(notes).
In keeping with the original decision of the referees, the National Hockey League has no plans on fining or suspending Staal for his actions.
Regardless, the hit sparked raucous debate on Twitter, especially since the video appears to show that Staal came from the side and his shoulder/arm hit Stajan in the head. At issue: whether the collision contravened Rule 48 which states: "A lateral or blind side hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or the principal point of contact is not permitted." Already this season, there have been several controversial hits where Rule 48 was applied, including Shane Doan(notes) on Anaheim's Dan Sexton(notes) (three-game suspension), Niklas Hjalmarsson(notes) on Jason Pominville(notes) (two games) and Joe Thornton(notes) on David Perron(notes) (two games).
But the Rangers insist this one wasn't in the same category.
"I bent my knees, my elbows didn't come up," Staal told reporters after the game. "I stayed low.
"I caught most of it on my side more than anything else."
Rangers head coach John Tortorella said Staal did nothing wrong in flattening Stajan.
"You don't want to see anybody hurt," Tortorella said. "I hope he's all right, but that's a clean hit."
Stajan was quietly riding a six-game point streak (all assists) when he went down. He did not skate Tuesday and is questionable for tonight's game in New Jersey.
"He's day-to-day with an upper-body injury," said assistant general manager Jay Feaster. "We will know more (today.) I expect him to be fine, but it is still day-to-day."
Should Stajan sit out, head coach Brent Sutter will have to re-jig his first line and introduce a new centre to play between Alex Tanguay(notes) and Jarome Iginla(notes).
"Staje and I are really starting to develop some chemistry," Iginla said. "You really hope he's going to be OK."
Craig Conroy(notes) missed Monday's game with a shoulder injury, so he is doubtful to move up. Mikael Backlund(notes) might be the leading candidate for promotion.
Centre Olli Jokinen(notes) will miss his third consecutive game tonight to wrap up his three-game suspension for cross-checking Wojtek Wolski(notes), of the Phoenix Coyotes, in the head.
Even if Stajan has to miss time, the Flames can't afford too many losses here or they'll fall out of playoff contention all together.
"It seems like nothing comes our way right now,"Tanguay said. "We have to still keep fighting. There's still 62 games left. It takes 96 points for us to get in the playoffs. We're at 17 right now.
"We've got a long way ahead of us, but we still can get those 79 points to get us there. We just have to be more consistent."
Defenceman Robyn Regehr(notes) missed Monday's game after crashing into the board Sunday in Detroit. He is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
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