Both Dallas Stars coach Dave Tippett and forward Mike Ribeiro didn't expect there to be any suspension from the NHL in the aftermath of Ribeiro's two-handed slash to the chest of Detroit Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood at the end of Game 2. Seems like they might be the only ones that can comprehend the unpredictable and inequitable world of National Hockey League justice: No suspension for Ribeiro, but fines for both players as well as for Stars enforcer Steve Ott, who earned a misconduct for an attack on Kris Draper.

Ribeiro said earlier today that Osgood was more guilty in this incident than he was: "Well, if they do suspend me for one game, hopefully they suspend him for two games." Osgood reached out with the butt-end of his stick as Ribeiro skated by, although Osgood emphatically said today that he wasn't trying to injure him and was trying to protect his teammate from getting run behind the net. Ribeiro addressed Osgood's actions, which he claimed were the catalyst for the incident:

So if he doesn't do that, I don't think I react, I have no reason to do what I did. So a little bit of frustration and emotion in the game. But like I mentioned, I think it was more dangerous what he tried to do than what I did.

Michael Beck makes a rational assessment of the situation, and one we're sure is the majority opinion: "Whatever contact occurred between Osgood and Ribeiro at the end of the game, a two-handed slash was not justified." But let's examine the minority opinion here, which is Ribeiro's: If Osgood's unsportsmanlike play provoked Ribeiro's admittedly excessive response, can the NHL suspend one without suspending the other?

If you buy that line, then there's no way Riberio could be suspended because it would mean stripping his foe of its starting goaltender for a critical Game 3. The actions of Ribeiro and Osgood are inseparable; they're complicit in this idiocy, and as Waiting for Stanley pointed out in rather explicit terms, the NHL simply couldn't banish one without taking out the other.

We've heard some say this is a rather pedestrian incident, because Ribeiro hit Osgood in his well-padded chest and Osgood sold the slash. But a stick foul is still a stick foul.

Considering this is the same League that treated any questionable hit from behind like first-degree murder in the regular season, wonder what a two-handed slash to a goaltender would have earned Ribeiro, provoked or not?

Probably more than a few dollars. Probably more than a few games. Hey, inconsistent justice in the postseason ... go figure.

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