A minute after Niklas Kronwall hit Nikita Kucherov on Monday night, it seemed impossible that the NHL wouldn't suspend him.
Half a day after, though, it felt far from guaranteed. There have been plenty of borderline hits so far in the Stanley Cup playoffs, but no suspensions, and whether the league had the stomach to take a stand on an important player ahead of a Game 7 was a valid question.
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Plus, plenty of reasonable people on Twitter had questions about whether the Red Wings defenseman's feet actually left the ice before impact, and that felt like the smoking gun. If you think Kronwall jumped into Kucherov, it was suspendable. If not . . . well, then it looked a lot like a whole bunch of other Kronwallings over the years, none of which were suspension-worthy in the eyes of the league. We overanalyze these things, to the point where we're not sure what we're looking at anymore. Seeds of doubt get planted. It's human nature — or should be, at least — to wonder whether your eyes are truly trustworthy.
By Tuesday evening, we had the league-sanctioned answer. Yes, Kronwall left his feet. Yes, that was a deciding factor. Yes, he'll be suspended for Game 7 of Red Wings-Lightning on Wednesday night.
In the NHL.com video explaining the decision, Patrick Burke, director of the Department of Player Safety, noted that the hit was different than Kronwall's previous ones because he left his feet and didn't target Kucherov's core.
"The combination of both of these two factors are what differentiates this hit from similar previous examples," Burke said.
And it was the right call. It always, from here, looked like Kronwall left his feet, and the video hammered home the point. The DOPS gets a ton of flack, and some of it is deserved, but it shouldn't here. Feet off the ground. Elbow to the face. Done deal. If either of those factors weren't in play, he'd have been able to skate with a fine. Both were, though. So it goes.
It's a huge loss for the Wings; Kronwall is their best defenseman, and the Lightning's non-Tyler Johnson forwards are due for a breakout any game now. It'll be easier to come by that with their seasons on the line.
As for Kronwall, he'll be judged as a repeat offender in any future cases. He'll keep getting away with the stuff he's always gotten away with because that's how this stuff works. Not if he leaves his feet, though. He's not allowed to do that, and on Monday, he did.