Montreal Canadiens' tough guy Georges Laraque may be in a bit of trouble with the league.
The NHL has decided to review Laraque's knee-on-knee collision with Red Wings' defenceman Niklas Kronwall that occurred half-way through the first period of Detroit's shootout victory over the Habs on Saturday. A hearing is scheduled for Monday morning with league disciplinarian Colin Campbell.
Kronwall had to be helped from the ice following the hit and was not able to put any weight on his left knee.
The Red Wings expect Kronwall to miss at least a month of time after an MRI on Sunday revealed a significant sprain of the medial collateral ligament in Kronwall's left knee.
"There is no ACL damage and that's good news," Red Wings' general manager Ken Holland told the Detroit News. "They are saying it's between a Grade 2 and a Grade 3 sprain; Grade 3 being the most severe. So he's out a month for sure and beyond that, it depends on how he heals."
Kronwall had his left knee surgically repaired in back in 2005.
Laraque, who stated that the collision was an accident, received a tripping minor on the play.
"There were four refs on the ice and they didn't call anything," Laraque told reporters following the game. "If they called a match penalty it would be different. There was no intent, there was no reason why I would try to go and hurt him. It was a pure accident, that's why they called it tripping, so I'm not worried at all."
Holland had a different interpretation of the play and is satisfied that the NHL will be reviewing the incident.
"The league called me (Saturday night)," Holland told the Detroit News. "Obviously, they are looking into it. They told me they saw the hit and they requested that I let them know the extent of Nik's injury."
