For me, that is a pretty obvious yes…

Posted by WingMan from The Q C on 02/08/11 at 05:45 PM ET

Just seeing video of this for the first time and it looks like yes, he threw his leg out to trip him from behind: a slew foot.

Posted by false_cause from DC on 02/08/11 at 05:52 PM ET

Not the worst slew foot I have ever seen, but it looks like Ballard was holding Mikhalek up and he decided to knock his leg out.

Posted by hockey1919 from mid-atlantic on 02/08/11 at 06:04 PM ET

“Not the worst slew foot I have ever seen, but it looks like Ballard was holding Mikhalek up and he decided to knock his leg out. “
Posted by hockey1919 from mid-atlantic on 02/08/11 at 03:04 PM ET

I agree, it looks like a split-second poor decision and Michalek probably felt real dumb and sorry as it was happening.

They should really start suspending & fining these plays. They should also raise the fine-allowance in the next CBA. I can’t imagine that would happen very easily.

Posted by NathanBC on 02/08/11 at 06:28 PM ET

Yikes… bad slew foot.

Posted by Nathan from the scoresheet! on 02/08/11 at 07:51 PM ET

I think the problem in not seeing the severity is assuming the injured leg is the one that got slew-footed.

Watch for the moment that you see the left knee get popped up and pause it at that moment.  Then look at the angle of the right leg - it was just starting to lift off the ice and the front of the foot to rotate laterally. Then comes the slew foot, and to balance himself Ballard reacts all of his weight to his right leg, which is in an awkward position and not ready to catch 200+ pounds attempting to stop- the knee isnt locked, the muscles arent tense, and the femur lands too far back on the tibia. 

Right ACL strain or tear is my bet.

Posted by MarkK from Maryland on 02/08/11 at 08:54 PM ET

I’m going to say it was an accident.  Looks like Michalek loses his balance and his right skate comes up, so he whips his left leg around and catches Ballard.  Very unfortunate.  But I wouldn’t call it intentional.

Just unfortunate, especially if Ballard misses time.  Game is best when the best players are on the ice, not on the IR.

Posted by Unicorn Force from DC (but like everyone here, I'm not a local) on 02/08/11 at 09:19 PM ET

Slew foot.

Suspend him (harshly) and send a message.

Then again this is the NHL so he’ll probably get POtW instead.

Posted by Primis on 02/08/11 at 11:06 PM ET

Could be considered a slewfoot even though I think it was unintentional.  It’s not like he stomped on the guys foot.  Metal (skates) + ice = slippery conditions.

Crap happens.  It’s a contact sport.  Still, I think a suspension is worthy although not a long one.  A couple games.

Posted by Matt Fry from Winnipeg on 02/09/11 at 12:39 AM ET

Slew foot?  Oh yeah.  That right knee got torqued.  I’m going to guess an ACL tear, but that’s just an educated guess. 

You can definitely hear him yelling in pain too…ouch.

Posted by CPSLOgoalie31 from San Luis Obispo, CA on 02/09/11 at 01:51 AM ET

He kicks Ballard’s skate forward AS HE PULLS HIM DOWN AND BACK. The trip part was slight, but the dump was hard. It didn’t look like an intent to injure, but the mechanics of the slew foot are in this vid.

Posted by redxblack from Akron Ohio on 02/09/11 at 02:33 AM ET