No it’s fine. Weber himself said it was “playoff hockey” and that he didn’t want to hurt Zetterberg. :rolleyes:
This is an embarrassment to the league. It’s complete bullshit. It sets an unbelievably low bar for player behavior in a game, but apparently this is how the NHL wants to handle things. This is how the playoffs are going to be handled. Because Zetterberg is able to play on Friday, there’s no reason to suspend Weber for what they are calling “a late hit.” I suppose that should Kronwall get lucky enough to get Weber cleanly in his sights, the NHL will handle the issue in a similar fashion.
Oh, it gets better. Nobody fourth liner Byron Bitz was suspended for 2 games for his hit on Kyle Clifford link
That’s a correct call, but it’s an easy and obvious call.
Bitz mistimed an otherwise legal move, and hurt someone in the process (well, headshot, etc, but throwing a check is part of the game…this is as much a “hockey play” as any, it’s just a dangerous one and worth of suspension).
What Weber did should never occur at any point in any game. There is no misjudgement there. It isn’t a hockey play gone wrong. It isn’t a mistimed move. It was deliberate and disgusting and has no place on a hockey rink. And yet he gets off with a slap on the wrist…twice, given as he’s been fined before.
Making that call was perhaps harder, because this has never been seen before, but it was NECESSARY and Shanahan failed.
Shanahan is a joke - inconsistent, ball-less and without a shred of integrity.
This is actually what I was saying at work today. Had that been a check, even a legal but ill timed or otherwise awry hit, it would’ve been a two game suspension and Weber’s suspension should’ve been comparable to that. I figured that would be the least they would do. Silly me.
Now if the incident had been a Philly player slamming Crosby’s head into the glass, I wonder what the fine would’ve been.
We already learned that he was a coward when he let the Board of Governors bully him into backing down on the length of suspensions. This decision doesn’t surprise me in the least.
Ottawa looked pretty good for the first half of the game – at one point outshooting the Rangers 22-12 – and then it all fell to pieces. We really have to be much tighter defensively if we don’t want to go home down 0-2.
Oh, and they have to fix that power play. It’s been awful for months. Stop looking for the big-time slapshot and just get pucks on net. New York is far too good at blocking shots and if you take the time to wind up, they’ll get in front of your shot almost every time.
Looks like reffing and Shanahan suspensions are going to be a total throw of the dice. Giving Weber a $2500 fine is like giving me a $2.50 fine. I love watching Weber but he should sit for a few games to make the players think about how dirty they want to be these playoffs. Now they know playing dirty is <sometimes> okay. So what if they nail Bitz for a so so bad play, he is really just a 4 line depth player and his temporary suspension is no great loss to the Canucks.
More of Daniel Sedin being punched repeatedly by dirty rat Marchand, here we come. Remind me again why I get excited about the playoffs. I should just be happy we won the Prez cup again and tune back in mid June to see the results.
Now, because CBC hates Senators fans, they have once again put Bob Cole as the play-by-play man for the Ottawa series. People who are unfamiliar with him sometimes get confused with his … unique way of calling a game. So here’s a quick cheat sheet to help you translate:
Gonchar = Erik Karlsson
Kubina = Flip Kuba
“This side” = That side over there. No, the other one.
Karlsson = Sergei Gonchar
“The Ottawa Player” = Somebody who joined the Senators after their last playoff series against the Leafs
Offside = Hand Pass
New York penalty = a penalty against Ottawa
Hand Pass = puck played by a high stick
The Ottawa Sens = trollolol
Doing what your boss tells you to do isn’t cowardice, it’s following orders.
But you’re going to have trouble convincing me the board of governors convened in secret about the Weber play. No, this was simply Shanahan not having the groceries to make the right call. He had a chance to do the brave thing and he didn’t have the stones to do it.
You can practice your French, Rysto, and watch RDS - they have Houde and Denis doing the calls for the Sens series, and they are, IMHO, fantastic. The other guys doing the other series aren’t as good.
Watching the TSN feed of the Yotes-Hawks game now: also so much better than the CBC.
I’m loving these playoff match-ups. I can’t believe the Sharks-Blues game went to double overtime; I think that’s going to be a fun series, though I’m saying that about pretty much all of them!
You could always tune your sound into The Team 1200, I believe Dave Schreiber and Gord Wilson are doing the call as Dean Brown was in Boston last night.
Then again you could also watch the game on MSG, but it’s usually pretty NY biased.
I remember one Habs game this season that we watched with friends who don’t speak French, so we watched it on the CBC. It was a game against the Devils, in New Jersey. Bob Cole kept talking about Brian Gionta, #21, of the Devils having the puck…
…only the only #21 on the ice that day was Mattias Tedenby, of the Devils, because Brian Gionta was out with an injury…
…oh, and by the way, Cole, Brian Gionta plays for the Montreal Canadiens, since 2009…in fact, he is the CAPTAIN of the Montreal Canadiens, since 2010.
:smack:
In Cole’s defence, Brian’s brother, Stephen, does play for the Devils…except that he wasn’t playing that day…and doesn’t wear #21.
Also, when calling the Habs, any short player at all is “Scott Gomez.” Mike Cammalleri? Brian Gionta? David Desharnais? Even Tomas Plekanec automatically get called “Scott Gomez.” No wonder the man can’t score, he’s totally gassed from playing 60 minutes a game!
The Pens played an awful game tonight. I they made stupid decision after stupid decision in their own zone. I’m lucky I’m not a fan of theirs or I’d be pretty upset right now. Fleury has not been great but he’s really been hung out to dry. The Flyers are no great shakes on D either. This series has been a HUGE letdown so far in terms of quality of play.
