It’s going to be quite interesting to watch Ken Hitchcock’s return to the NHL tonight. I bet Hitch and TJ Oshie are going to get along just fine:rolleyes:
Also, NBC sports has endless speculation on Crosby’s return. Don’t worry, NBC, Crosby should be back in time for the NBC East Coast game of the week starting in January.
If Adam Henrique keeps playing like this, Travis Zajac might find himself lower on the depth chart when he returns.
I’m pretending it’s still the preseason.
At least I’m up 3-1 in my hockey pool. 
Looks like the dreaded trap is making a comeback…
Makes Laviolette look bad, like he can’t figure out how to beat the 1-3-1 so he’s just not going to play.
Though there wasn’t any offside reason for Tampa to not go after the puck, so they don’t look all that great either. Seems to me both teams could have been charged with a delay of game penalty under Rule 73.
Advice to the NHL: apply ALL OF the existing rules and a lot of your problems go away.
Nothing like playing Columbus to snap the Blackhawks out of their funk, eh?
Probably more fitting is rule 72.1
The argument from the other side is that Tampa made no effort to further play by their passive/non-existent forecheck, but I think any objective ruling on the play in determining who, if anyone, was delaying the game by refusing/abstaining to play the puck would have to go against the team with the puck. The onus is on the offense to score, especially in a 0-0 game as it was at the time, not the defense to be baited out of their obviously effective structure.
Most of the vitriol is, of course, toward the dreaded trap but I think the far worse part of it all was the Flyers bench actively and loudly taunting the Lightning players. Not that I expect a whole lot of class out of that organization, but the irony of calling them cowards while their team sits on the puck, afraid to take on their defensive scheme is delicious.
It may be my anti-Flyers bias, but if I were a ref I’d have called them for a bench minor for unsportsmanlike conduct.
I didn’t know about rule 72.1 - I just picked 73 because someone else mentioned it and I looked it up and it seemed fitting 
I think you’re right that the blame pretty much goes to the Flyers - I didn’t know the bench was taunting the Lightning either (the speakers on this laptop suck and I didn’t listen too closely). I despise Laviolette, and I think this whole thing makes it look like Coach Just-For-Men doesn’t know how to coach against a good team.
Neither of my fantasy league goalies are starting tonight. What the fuck are the odds that both the Habs and Penguins would NOT be starting their starting goalies on a Saturday night?! I think this might sink me in this match-up; I only have a 13 point lead and my opponent has a ton of players playing tomorrow. I only have two.
My cousin had extra tickets for tomorrow’s home game - Sabres@Habs - and we are buying them off her. I can’t wait! Since we are also seeing the Hamilton Bulldogs at the Bell Centre on Friday, this is a good week for hockey (at least for us!).
Lucic is such a punk. His hit on Miller is as cheap as they come.
Agreed. He gets to explain himself today to the Shanabanner - I hope he gets suspended. I’ll grant that Lucic has talent, but he’s such a retarded cheapshotting goon. He likes to take out smaller guys (and his girlfriend…) but turtles when enforcers challenge him - he’s hid behind Chara whenever Travis Moen has challenged him, and it’s not like Moen is the biggest, most intimidating guy in the league! He’s a disgusting player that gives hockey a bad name.
And Shanahan is officially a tool. “No intent” my ass. Of course Lucic is going to claim no fucking intent, he’s the one “on trial” here! There are bloody objective facts here that, going by precedent set by the NHL say that a suspension is warranted:
the time between when Miller last touched the puck and when he got hit is at least as long, if not, in fact, longer, than the same time between when Horton touched the puck and Rome hit him in the SCF. Therefore, by the NHL’s own definition, it’s a late fucking hit.
An injury occurred. Same as with Horton.
Therefore, since Rome warranted at least a 4 game suspension during the SCF, a suspension was, without a doubt, warranted in this case.
Oh, and as much as people like to say “the goalie is fair game” out of his crease, the fucking rules of the NHL explicitly say he isn’t. Even if he was, by the same standards I just laid out, a suspension is warranted.
No intent…fuck, I’ve seen players make incredible spin and lateral jump moves while carrying the puck to get past defenders. I’ve seen players stop on a freaking dime. Lucic made no effort whatsoever to slow down or move out of the way, his stick was up in the air, not reaching for the puck whatsoever, and I don’t buy that he didn’t “see” the goalie he was skating directly towards. Hi shit-eating grin afterwards belies intent, and I think it’s a pretty fucking huge condemnation when Tim Thomas, his own goalie, says “as a goalie, you don’t expect to get hit like that”.
Fuck, a blind monkey could do a better job at staying consistent on discipline than Shanahan and his predecessors. I had faith in Shanny… he’s blown it. Congratulations, Shanny, it’s now open season on goalies, and soon one of them is going to get seriously hurt. I hope that day never comes, but if it does, I hope you’re prepared to live with yourself for setting the stage for it.
Gah, how many rulings in the Bruins’ favour before it stops being a freaking coincidence?
To be honest, I’m not sure whether Shanahan is the problem here. It seems to me that the suspensions got scaled way back once the GMs started bitching about them. Until the NHL can get the dinosaurs in check I’m not sure that it matters who is doing discipline for the league.
Well, that’s what I meant by “tool”. He was trotted out as a new sheriff, and I guess I thought the decisions early on were really his decisions, and he was going to make an honest effort to improve the game. Turns out he’s still a puppet for the dinosaurs, as you say it. It’s disappointing and just shameful that the league will continue to turn a blind eye to situations that are clearly dangerous and actually against the rules of the game as currently written.
With regards to body checking and the (IMHO dangerous) concept of “finishing a check”, I’ve never played hockey, but I’ve seen one person mention how checking should be done with the stick on the ice. It was a comment on a news story or blog and I can’t seem to find it now, but do any of you feel that some sort of modification to the rules like that could work? I can see how the hits would be less devastating to the person being hit, and the hitter would have to make more of an effort to hit with chest and shoulder, but does the hitter risk more injury due to arm positioning in that case? What do you guys think?
The Habs game last night was fun…up until the shootout goal where they lost. Nosebleed seats, but the view is pretty awesome even from the top of the Bell Centre behind the goalie and the scoreboard video screen is huge, so you really don’t miss much. Tough loss - and losing yet another defenceman (Spacek) during the game pretty much screwed them over… 5 defencemen left playing, led by Josh Gorges who missed half a season last year to injury, 2 sophomores (Subban and Weber) and 2 rookies still adapting to NHL ice from Europe (Diaz, Emelin). They actually weren’t too bad, given that. The Habs PP sucks, and I think that’s the difference maker right now, other than the players lost to injury (last night: Cammalleri, Spacek, Kostitsyn, Gill (illness), Markov, Campoli, White…and Gomez and Subban are both playing hurt). Man, what a healthy team could do!!
My take is that the players got the message and have toned it down. Personally I havent seen any plays recently that screamed for any type of fine/suspension.
The Lucic hit was definitely late, and was a penalty, but far from suspendable. There’s no way to tell when Miller was injured and if one had to speculate, the Seguin collision was much worse and had a higher probability of causing the injury. So throwing out the injury factor, there’s really no suspendable action
Oh Penguins, why must you wait until the third period to make a comeback? Are you trying to give me a heart attack? sigh
2/3 of the league GMs would have preferred to see Lucic suspended. In the future, we can basically expect to see these dangerous plays lead to suspensions. Good. Shanny still got it wrong, but I guess there’s hope.
Funny comment on a Habs blog;
Poster 1 “I wonder who would reply if Price got run like that? Gorges? Subban?”
Poster 2 “Price. He’d hog-tie Lucic with his own [skate] laces.”
The hit by Stewart on Kronwall was sickening.
Yikes, the Stars stunk up the place last night. I know the first game back after a road trip is usually soft, but that was pure awful.
That has to be at least a 5-7 game suspension. It is exactly the sort of thing people have been talking about for last few years.
Devils shot themselves in the foot last night in the third period and missed out on getting at least a point against Boston.
Tough loss. Sucks to give so much effort and energy and get nothing for it.
Johan Hedberg needs a shock collar to ensure he stays in the crease. Man it’s an adventure every time he plays the puck.
Woohoo shutout! 4-0 over the 'Canes.
And this. So freaking awesome.