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Sedin doesn't buy 'it's playoffs' excuse
By
Randy Sportak, QMI Agency
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  Vancouver Canuck Daniel Sedin jokes with teammates following the team practice in Vancouver, British Columbia April 10, 2012. (Andy Clark/REUTERS)
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EL SEGUNDO, CALIF. - Saturday's action featured a trio of potential-for-suspension plays.
Sunday's Philadelphia Flyers 8-4 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins had all kinds of nefarious actions, such as James Neal's head shots.
Vancouver Canucks captain Henrik Sedin took in what he could Saturday night and could only shrug off so much of it.
"A lot of people think 'That's playoffs,' " Sedin said. "You can't just defend everything with, 'Oh, it's playoffs.' That's a mindset I don't really buy into and I don't understand."
The NHL set a poor tone to its discipline by only giving a fine to Nashville's Shea Weber when he drove the head of Detroit's Henrik Zetterberg into the glass.
It's hard to watch a game this spring without seeing dastardly deeds, and Sedin is among those who believe the only solution is suspensions.
"In the playoffs, if you do something and get punished, you can really hurt your team. In the regular season and you get punished the way players are punished, I don't think you hurt your team," Sedin said. "If you show no respect for your opponents at least you need to have a lot of respect for your teammates, and you don't want to hurt them."
ICE CHIPS
The Canucks did more than just change their goalie for Sunday's clash. Forward Dale Weise took the place of Andrew Ebbett ... Canucks forward Byron Bitz is due to return next game after missing the second and third clashes due to the suspension handed to him after he hit Kings forward Kyle Clifford from behind ... Clifford is not yet skating due to his head injury, but forward Brad Richardson, who had an emergency appendectomy just before the series started, is back skating.
randy.sportak@sunmedia.ca
On Twitter: @SUNRandySportak
