Claude Julien: Possible broken orbital bone for Ward

From the Boston Globe:

According to Claude Julien, Aaron Ward might have suffered a broken orbital bone when he was sucker-punched by Scott Walker at 17:13 of the third period.

Ward will be re-evaluated tomorrow.

Here’s a look at the scrum that led to Ward’s injury:

For complete story click here.

As the game came to a close you could see that it was getting chippy.  I’m not sure if Walker did this in retaliation for the Milan Lucic hit on Dennis Seidenberg in the 1st period or to give his team a lift for game 6 back in Carolina.  Watching the game live I didn’t think it was a cheap shot as my initial analysis was that Walker saw Ward give Cullen a bit of a shot and saw this as an opportunity to step in to defend his teammate.  Upon further review though it seems somewhat clear that Ward wasn’t going to fight Walker.  So was it a cheap shot or did Walker just react and get the first punch in?

The problem for Walker is it doesn’t really matter which it was, as he is going to have to face the NHL Rule Book which states;

47.22 Fines and Suspensions – Instigator in Final Five Minutes of Regulation Time (or Anytime in Overtime) – A player or goalkeeper who is deemed to be the instigator of an altercation in the final five (5) minutes of regulation time or at anytime in overtime, shall automatically be suspended for one game. The Director of Hockey Operations will review every such incident and may rescind the suspension based on a number of criteria. The criteria for the review shall include, but not limited to, the score, previous incidents, etc. The length of suspension will double for each subsequent offense. This suspension shall be served in addition to any other automatic suspensions a player may incur for an accumulation of three or more instigator penalties.

When the one-game suspension is imposed, the Coach shall be fined $10,000 – a fine that will double for each subsequent incident.

No team appeals will be permitted either verbally or in writing regarding the assessment of this automatic suspension.

So regardless of his reasoning for the punch it appears that Walker will likely be suspended for Game 6 and unfortunately for Paul Maurice it might also cost him $10,000.00.

Question for IC readers who watched the game live or later saw the replay is, was the Walker punch a cheap shot or legit?  As always please add to the discussion in the comments section below.

Updated:  NHL fines Hurricanes’ Walker for Game 5 incident

The National Hockey League today announced that Hurricanes forward Scott Walker has been fined $2,500 for an incident that occurred at the 17:13 mark of the third period of Game 5 against the Boston Bruins. There will be no additional punishment assessed.

“We are satisfied with the league’s ruling,” said Hurricanes President and General Manager Jim Rutherford. “After our team received several punches throughout the series leading up to Game 5, it was a matter of time before one was going to be thrown back.”

“I accept the league’s decision,” said Walker. “Based on what was said on the ice as I was dropping my gloves, it was my understanding that I was engaged in an altercation.”

Wow.  From what I’ve read on the Bruins message boards, the B’s fans are going to be none too pleased with this ruiling.  Lucic vs. Walker round 1 in game 6?