The Washington Capitals have played in the Southeast Division since it was first created in 1998. It’s about time they start to really care about some of the other teams in it. On Saturday night, the Carolina Hurricanes made a big play to get noticed when their captain, Rod Brind’Amour, grabbed the back of Alex Ovechkin’s head and pushed the Capitals superstar, face first, into one of the metal poles holding up the glass around the rink.

Brind’Amour received only a two-minute penalty, which is unusually light for a player trying to injure one of the game’s greatest talents and ambassadors. Actually, it’s unusually light for any player trying to injure any other player. Perhaps the referees were swayed by reactionary Hockey Night In Canada commentator Don Cherry’s campaign against Ovechkin’s exuberant goal-scoring celebrations. Cherry concluded a recent rant against the emotions of people born outside Canada by saying that if Ovechkin keeps jumping for joy when he helps his team win, “somebody is going to cut him in half.”

Brind’Amour, a native son of Canada’s capital city, heeded the widening call when he attempted to give Ovechkin a concussion on a meaningless play with less than two minutes left in a game the Hurricanes were leading by two goals. The NHL has repeatedly announced this year that it is cracking down on hits from behind and hits to players’ heads, and that it will suspend players who violate these rules. It has never been legal for hockey players to use their hands to deliver a bodycheck. That’s why it’s called a bodycheck.