We can certainly debate Rome’s intent, but if you’re going to deny that his shoulder hit Horton’s head you’re denying the plain facts. I am frankly amazed that we have two people here saying Rome did not hit Horton in the head. It’s like arguing the Canucks don’t wear green and blue jerseys.
Look at time stamps 0:35 and 0:36 here.
At 0:35 Rome is lining up Horton and, from a solid 6 to 8 feet away, is already lifting his shoulder towards Horton’s head. He does so with enough force that his left/lead skate actually leaves the ice as he lifts his shoulder. At 0:36 his shoulder hits Horton’s head. It is not a matter of debate, it is fact. I am looking at a clear HD capture of the hit.
I don’t know how a reasonable person can deny what we can all see in plain sight. Rome hit Horton in the head, and that’s that.
How do you know?
I mean, maybe it was unintentional. I have to admit it LOOKS intentional; if he was aiming for the chest why did he lift his shoulder? But, hey, maybe it looks intentional but it really was an accident.
It doesn’t matter, though. Rome is responsible for his actions. He hit the guy in the head.
I have not corrected your assertions of what they say. I know what they say. What I’m saying is that they’re full of shit and their application of the rules of senseless and illogical. The NHL is full of shit on this issue, as they have been full of shit for years now.
Because the NHL is full of shit. Of course the play by Boychuk was ridiculously dirty. While we’re at it, why isn’t Brad Marchand suspended for instigating and conducting a one-man fight?
You are mistaking me for a partisan voice. I am not; I am a hockey fan who wants good hockey that’s as safe as it can be. The officiating and supplementary discipline in this series have been disgracefully bad, and the play by both teams has been unsportsmanlike and dirty.
I watched the same video as Rickjay and saw the same thing. Rome hits Horton in the head. Shoulder makes clear contact with the head.
That proves it then. He waved on the jumbotron. Must be faking.
Because he can wave, he can play hockey. He just took the mother of all dives to get Rome suspended for four games. Cunning plan that. Just slipped up the one time.
The crappy officiating has led to even crappyier hockey, as the players figure out they can get away with most anything. The net result is that the quality of the game has gone into the toilet.
Yes a concussion can easily leave you “well enough” to fly on a plane and certainly to wave. In fact it can leave you well enough to do just about anything other than suffer another head injury. Players (hockey, football, etc.) used to come back from those injuries much too soon, and probably still do.
Your case grows ever stronger. Not only is he cleared to fly, but he wants to play! Injured players never want to play in the Stanley Cup Final even if it’s a game seven.
Wait. No. Being cleared to fly has nothing to do with his concussion and injured players always want to play. I really don’t understand why you’re looking at waving, boarding a plane, and wanting to play and think that it proves that Horton is faking it.
This has nothing to do with Horton and his injuries. Horton didn’t hit Raymond. Boychuk did and we weren’t talking about him. I’ve also stated my views on the Raymond hit pretty clearly, so I’m not sure why you felt the need to include this bit.
People who think it is okay to play this soon after sustaining a concussion should read this article from the Toronto Star What Really Killed Bill Masterton.
Harborwolf - I can’t speak for Euphonious Polemic, but what annoys me about Horton being at the game 2 days after the hit, being at the next game (in the arena at all, really), going to Vancouver isn’t that I think he’s faking it. I’m sure he’s probably either more severely injured than he wants to admit or the organization is being more tolerant simply because this is a Game 7 of the SCF. Maybe he’s just one of those people for whom the symptoms of concussion fade really quickly.
What’s annoying me about this is the wailing and gnashing of teeth from the Boston camp - Dr. Recchi comes to mind - when Max Pacioretty dared see a freaking movie 6 days after his injury and spend 8 seconds to tweet about it, because obviously that proves he’s faking it, the Habs lied about a “severe concussion” to get Chara suspended, “he might not even have a broken neck because no one with a broken neck goes to the movies!”, etc. Pacioretty was in the hospital for more time than it took Horton to go right back to the arena to be with his team.
Well, it didn’t take long at all for Boston to cry “severe concussion!!!” for Horton - which I don’t actually doubt, by the way - and Rome got suspended for the most severe suspension ever laid during the finals, and there’s already a lot of criticism - since the Chara hit in particular - of Boston [seemingly] being favoured when it comes to discipline and refereeing because of Daddy Campbell, the fact that the Boston owner is the head of the BOG of the NHL, etc. Sure, it’s Mike Murphy making the decision, but the man is an employee of Colin Campbell - a man who has in the past been proven to meddle with the refs when it comes to his son and his son’s team! I’d have a hard time going against my boss’s wishes in that situation.
So, again, speaking for me and not Euphonious Polemic, hearing that Horton is well enough to deal with a 5+ hour flight to Vancouver so quickly, and that Boston is actually milking this with the camera shots, flag waving and “how inspiring” bullshit is annoying because it’s…what’s that word again?..fucking hypocritical.
I’m glad for Horton that he seems to not be too injured, really, I am. But I think the Boston Bruins organization and their fans are assholes throughout all this, because they didn’t have the compassion to wish the same for another injured player back in March, and because of the behaviour of the fans towards Mason Raymond.
While I’m late to this party, I just want to add the NBC announcers for the game stated emphatically that this was completely clean and that the Bruin player “did what he was supposed to do…finishing his check”. There wasn’t any dispute at all on that comment.
Plus, attempting to hurt other players (legally) is part of the game of hockey. At least that’s what every hockey fan I know in Toronto tells me. Pain and intimidation are part of the game. Why else would every team have goons on the roster? Raymond’s injury ended up being severe, but you couldn’t tell by watching it. You could tell the severity of the Horton injury immediately, and you didn’t need slow motion replay to determine that it was indeed illegal.
I know many hockey fans in Canada and most feel “the Cup belongs in Canada”. I suspect that this is clouding their judgement. They used to always seem to promote the “that’s how hockey is supposed to played..we’re rough and tough..hard hitting and fighting are part of the game” attitude. Now they’re all crying about how the Bruins are “dirty” and that “skill, and not brawn” should be rewarded. Funny, they never seemed to complain when Tie Domi displayed his dirty tactics. Talk about an about-face! It’s laughable. I suspect that most of the crying here is from Canadians, who seem to have sour grapes with their soft team and a goalie who can’t play on the road.
For the record, I think Vancouver will win tonight. At least that’s who I’m betting on.
The announcers for NBC are noted for their lack of knowledge of the game, as well as their blatant cheerleading for the “US” team (which has 17 Canadians on it)
I advise you talk to fans other than those in Toronto. Most everyone I talk to wants the violence and the “goonery” out of the game. It’s crap. It lowers the quality of the games. It may be the way is used to be, but most people are fed up with it.
The NBC announcers are so openly biased towards Boston it makes me sick to have the volume on. Just listen to it. Comments like “The Canucks made another dirty play.” versus “The Bruin player had to do that - a good hockey play”.
There is a big difference between finishing your check and finishing it in a way with an intent to hurt someone. Imagine yourself being turned around so that your bent over with your ass in the air while someones locked your head in his knees. His speed and momentum take you into the boards hard in this position. That is a dirty play. He didn’t have to do that. I don’t think Raymond even touched the puck during any of that sequence.
There’s an extra little push, too. Not just the momentum of the initial collision driving them to the boards, but Boychuk gives a last shove into the boards as part of “finishing the check”. I’m pretty sure every player is, on some level, aware that when they have someone in a position like Raymond was in, that player is vulnerable to injury. The puck was far away, Raymond never touched it, and I struggle to see how Boychuk could argue that he was trying to play it, rather than trying to tangle up Raymond to prevent him from touching it. This is, at least, interference and should have been called as such. The fact that it led to an injury… that’s what makes it a penalty/suspendable play. I don’t think Boychuk intended to hurt Raymond at all - in that sense, it was an unfortunate/awkward hit. But the play was away from the puck, the play was interference, and it lead to injury.
A play that is against the rules leading to injury should, IMHO, pretty much always lead to a suspension. Don’t want to get suspended? Don’t break the rules. Simple, really. Crack down on it, err on the side of player safety in all cases, and these types of incidents will, I believe, occur less often. For the handful of goons who can’t learn and adapt, just kick them out of the league.
Fair enough. I guess maybe it’s driven by the Leafs’ lack of success over the past few decades. But I don’t buy that the NBC announcers are biased in favor of Boston. I don’t have a dog in this fight, and I didn’t sense any bias. Living in the NY-area, I watch and hear alot of biased commentary on sports teams and I hate it.
Personally I think if the NHL were serious about fighting these types of injuries they would have something like a card system in soccer. After so many minors/majors you automatically get sent off.
It works like this two yellows equals a red. A red is an ejection and a suspension. If you accumulated two yellows over multiple games is a suspension. Teams can’t sub someone in for an ejected player. They play the rest of the game at a disadvantage. You don’t get ejected right away for accumulation over multiple games. So if Chara got a yellow on Monday and then again on Tuesday he can continue playing Tuesday game. But he couldn’t play on Friday. However if he was ejected on Monday he couldn’t play on Tuesday. Disciplinary committees can add more matches if they think it’s warranted. They might also get fined in addition to the game bans.
I see no evidence Toronto fans are more bloodthirsty than fans in any other city. Like Vancouver or Boston fans, they will tend to lionize their own players and overlook their sins, and emphasize the sins of other teams’ players. The Leafs’ sucking has nothing to do with it (why would it?)
The Toronto media is also deploring the quality of play in this series just as everyone else is. Frankly, I don’t know anyone in southern Ontario who thinks this has been an enjoyable series just because it’s rough and dirty. (Insert sex joke here.) The universal opinion is that the calibre of play has sucked and there’s far too much dirty play. On both sides.
That’s why I’m in fear when I hear that the refs for tonight’s game will probably not call anything. (Dan O’Halloran and Stephen Walkom) Indeed, when these two refs worked Game 7 of the Boston/TB series, there was not a single penalty called.
By appointing these two, the league has given the green light to tripping, hacking, slashing, punching and running players into the boards to injure them.
Advantage? Boston. I’m sorry, but this has been how they have won the games in this series.
I expect a nasty, brutish game, and will probably turn it off after the 1st period. I hope that I’m pleasantly surprised but not counting on it.
Can I ask a question regarding game misconducts? Due to discussion with my friend, I looked up the NHL rule on game misconducts, here.
The rule states:
Picking on Shawn Thornton, simply because his is the first name I was able to find in two games of the same series, he received a game misconduct in Game 3 as well as one in Game 6. Why isn’t he suspended automatically for Game 7? Other than, you know, the typical “refereeing and the NHL are bush league”… I’m hoping I either missed a clause in the rule somewhere that explains why this part isn’t applied, or there’s some other rational reason why the NHL doesn’t follow their own rules. What am I missing?
And yes, I realize this would mean players on pretty much every team would have way more suspensions…but I think that’s a good thing! Seriously, looking through the NHL rulebook, so much of this nonsense could be avoided if the actual rules were followed!
