Jared Cowen Avoids Suspension

NHL looked at Cowen hit on Datsyuk and ruled that there will be no suspension. #sens

— Wayne Scanlan (@HockeyScanner) November 24, 2013

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The Jared Cowen hit in question was an elbow that he delivered to Pavel Datsyuk's head, or as the Detroit Red Wings announcers would say, 'Right in the jaw. RIGHT IN THE JAW!"

http://youtube.com/watch?v=CAh4bU1dnTE

Datsyuk was being held out of today's contest versus Buffalo with a suspected concussion, but it's worth noting that there was no penalty called on the play. 

As unfortunate as it is to see one of the game's best players get injured like this, I think the issue at hand had more to do with Cowen's intent. It certainly doesn't look like he intentionally targeted the head in this instance. Although Datsyuk's head was the principle point of contact, it looked like the contact with the head was created because Datsyuk stopped short and Cowen followed through anticipating that Datsyuk's momentum would carry him forward. 

Having watched the hit a number of times, I'm somewhat surprised that the league did not punish the result, especially because the head was the primary point of contact. Mind you, Dennis Seidenberg wasn't penalized for hitting Bobby Ryan in the head last week and he also avoided a suspension, so there's that to consider as well.

Whatever the reasoning, there are a number of people pointing out on Twitter that the league might think it's a fitting punishment to ensure that the struggling Cowen remains in Ottawa's lineup instead. And sadly, they may be right.