Hockey Night In DSP

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 9:15 pm

A brief mention on HNIC about the call, and as Sour Grapes mentioned it's too bad he made that mistake and yes it could have been a point, maybe two that was at stake. In this ever tough Western conference, a point or two may be insignicant now, but when it comes to the playoff race, this call may haunt the Oilers and McGeough for awhile.

A very nice feature on Ryan Miller today on HNIC showing his beginnings at the Indiana State University where a lot of good players follow their studies and Hockey programs. His grandad, father and brother, all had a Hockey history. He's still unbeaten in regulation time.

Looks like A. Ovechkin is having a blast so far.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 9:53 pm

pk500 wrote: MacT nailed it after the game: He called it a "retarded call" and said McGeough should be suspended. That was f*cking amateur hour by drama queen Mick. Take care,
PK

Not that it would change anything but the league fined MacT with that"retarded" comment.

There's a GM meeting coming up this week, and I hope they fix the scheduling for the next few years , try to reduce the division games and have more East-West games.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 11:40 pm

Afinogenov is hurt in Sabres' first regulation loss of season. All Lindy would say after the game is that it was an "upper body injury" and that Max would be out "for a while."

Not good for Buffalo.

Take care,
PK

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 1:23 pm

Top 10 faceoff guys in this young season. The only surprise for me, M. Richards.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ ... y01?slot=1

Feanor · Post by **Feanor** » Wed Nov 08, 2006 10:35 am

Now if he only he could score a goal.

The latest story is that the new Flyers coach is going to cover the bottom half of the nets with plywood in practice to try and get the players to shoot high.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Wed Nov 08, 2006 3:15 pm

Tough break for the Leafs as they were a bit on a roll. Their captain M. Sundin is out for a month with a ligament tear in his elbow.

Airdog · Post by **Airdog** » Wed Nov 08, 2006 7:14 pm

10spro wrote:Tough break for the Leafs as they were a bit on a roll. Their captain M. Sundin is out for a month with a ligament tear in his elbow.

I was just about to post this. Tears.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 3:04 pm

I couldn't agree more with Bobby Orr about hits to the head in this EXCELLENT piece by Bob McKenzie:

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=183645&hubname=

Orr is spot-on. How come it's illegal to touch anyone in the face with your stick or strike someone in the face with your glove or fist, but it's perfectly legal to drive a shoulder covered in hard-plastic body armor into a player's face?

Makes absolutely zero sense.

As someone who has watched the game for more than 30 years, I saw plenty of hard hitting in the 70s, 80s and 90s. But I never saw as many shots to the head as I've seen in the last two seasons.

My tune has changed on this issue over the last two years, and the Torres hit on Williams was the last straw, even if there wasn't malicious intent by Raffi. You can still have hitting without hits to the head.

Plus the NHL needs positive PR as much as possible, and if the only highlights shown on "SportsCenter" are those of a guy being wheeled off the ice on a stretcher with a huge gash over his brow, that's not good for the game.

There are two rule changes I would love to see in the NHL:

1. Penalize hits to the head.
2. Mandate wooden sticks.

Composite sticks are hurting the game for three main reasons.

First, cost. The damn things cost between $150-$200 APIECE. That might not mean much to NHL players who receive them for free, but what about the Bantam or Midget player who wants to use the same gear as the pros? Parents' stick budgets could approach the mid-four figures each season.

Second, durability. These f*cking composite sticks break way more often than wooden sticks. I can't tell you how many times in the last two seasons I've seen a guy set up for a perfect one-timer or slapper and have it leave his exploding stick at about 9 mph. It hurts the flow and thrill of the game.

Third, safety. Do we really need the extra 5 mph on shots that composite sticks create? Can the average fan really tell the difference between a 98-mph slapper and a 103-mph slapper? No. Plus many NHL defensemen and power forwards who hang around the net have mentioned this season that the pucks are coming at them at frightening speeds due to the whip and power generated by the composite sticks. Hockey now is just asking for more facial injuries with the missile launchers in players' hands.

I can see no point to not mandating wooden sticks. They're cheaper, more durable and safer.

It's a no-brainer.

Take care,
PK

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 4:23 pm

I don't think the stick issue is much of a concern for the NHL at this point, but I agree 100% about contact to the head. These hits may be legal, but there is no doubt in my mind that they are delivered with intent to injure. Players in the league just don't have much respect for each other anymore. Too many careers have been ruined by concussions, and a pro-active step to deal with the problem is long overdue. As I said in last year's playoff thread, it made me sick to my stomach watching Connolly take that hit. Enough is enough.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Sat Nov 11, 2006 10:03 pm

Among 37 players making their debuts on the NHL All-Star fan ballot are A. Ovechkin & S. Crosby. The vote starts next week and this year the event takes place in Dallas in JAN as the Olympics in Turin took precedence over the event last year.

Feanor · Post by **Feanor** » Sun Nov 12, 2006 1:02 pm

Great article in that link, pk500. The sad thing is that the NHL would definitely be singing a different tune if it was Alex Ovechkin who got nailed instead of Jason Williams. That bit at the end of the article about how the Oilers wanted retribution on Markov for a shoulder-to-chest hit that resulted in no injury, but Detroit didn't feel the same about Torres' head-hunting is really, really weird.

This bit made me laugh, though:

The message from the league was clear: If a player hits another player with a shoulder check - and he doesn't leave his feet or take too many steps on a charge -- and that player's shoulder strikes the other player in the face or head, even if it causes injury, it's a legal hit. A clean hit. A casualty of war, so to speak.

Scott Stevens spent his career making hits to the head with his shoulders and elbows that involved him taking a ton of steps and/or leaving his feet and the NHL never did anything about it. The league was gutless then, and it's no different now.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Sun Nov 12, 2006 1:43 pm

Feanor wrote:Scott Stevens spent his career making hits to the head with his shoulders and elbows that involved him taking a ton of steps and/or leaving his feet and the NHL never did anything about it. The league was gutless then, and it's no different now.

I totally disagree, S. Stevens is one of the purest hitters I've seen in the NHL. Now, they did a survey last night on HNIC whether the hits to the head should be banned. I don't know the final results but they did interview several players regarding the issue. The fact that the NHL is studying this problem in the NHL, shows you that there's some concern.

And not suprisingly the interviewed players were non commital on the issue because you just have to watch carefully as to what constitutes a blow to the head. If you're fighting for a puck in a scrum against the glass, and say you happen to stick your head out and another guy comes at 100 miles per hour and rocks you, then you know that was a dirty play.

Examples: The Markov hit last year and the S. Moore hit to Naslund a couple of years back were dirty IMO. Their heads were stretching to reach for the puck and out of nowhere came the hit. Those blows should be banned.

But there are times when you are fighting for the puck and you happen to hit the opponents' chest and in the heat of the scrum your stick is a bit high but there's no evil intention and it reaches his head. Is that a dirty play? It happens, the game is too fast sometimes. And it's clear that one of the reasons some players were careful in their responses, is that the league has to come with a crystal clear rule as to what constitutes a hit to the head.

But these things take time, I know that the visor rule will come in effect sooner rather than later, but at least the league is looking into it.

Feanor · Post by **Feanor** » Mon Nov 13, 2006 11:24 am

Have a look at the top 10 Stevens hits on youtube and only a couple of them were within the rules. The rest are all illegal in one way or another - elbowing, leaving the feet, charging, etc. Nothing pure about that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U7jUbKQYdw

The hit on Kariya people always go on about happened when the puck was long gone so it was actually obstruction as well as being an obvious attempt to injure with a shoulder to the head/elbow to the chin, but of course no Interference penalty was called by the wimpy refs. The puck is over by the boards, Kariya is in the middle of the ice, but it was a clean hit? Not in a million years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYqNXH35 ... ed&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8up-tkxZ ... ed&search=

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Mon Nov 13, 2006 11:50 am

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on what a good hit is in this case. The one on Kariya is a s clean as it comes. He lowers his left shoulders and it's the impact/force of the hit that makes his right foot lift after the hit. You have two players going at full speed in different directions and when you collide at full force, especially for the hitter, it's almost impossible to have any foot planted on the ice.

I tell you what though the one on Kariya would be illegal today as he already made a pass as he's being hit so he doesn't have the puck anymore and I have no problem in banning those hits.

But again we are talking about hits to the head, and I don't see Stevens head hunting on Kariya on that play.

James_E · Post by **James_E** » Mon Nov 13, 2006 12:51 pm

That hit on Kariya is as clean as they come, and it was done in the "old" NHL where "finishing the check" was the norm. "Finishing the check" often occurred with way more delay following the puck being gone, than the delay on that hit on Kariya.

I didn't like seeing Kariya out like that, it was scary... but in this case it was totally clean and part of the game.

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Mon Nov 13, 2006 1:20 pm

James_E wrote:That hit on Kariya is as clean as they come, and it was done in the "old" NHL where "finishing the check" was the norm. "Finishing the check" often occurred with way more delay following the puck being gone, than the delay on that hit on Kariya.

I didn't like seeing Kariya out like that, it was scary... but in this case it was totally clean and part of the game.

I agree with 10s that the Kariya hit was certainly not a charge or elbow, and whether or not it was interference is based upon whether or not Kariya is judged to be 'in possession' of the puck. This rule has not been changed under 'new' or 'old' NHL rules, and is listed below. Having watched the replay a few times, it certainly seems to me that Kariya was the last person to play the puck at the time of impact, though the hit was borderline too late under the 'immediate' loss of possession clause.

That being said, how anyone can judge that there was no intent to injure there is beyond me.

"A minor penalty shall be imposed on a player who interferes with or impedes the progress of an opponent who is not in possession of the puck." (Rule 67a).

(NOTE 2) Possession of the Puck:
The last player to touch the puck, other than the goalkeeper, shall be considered the player in possession. The player deemed in possession of the puck may be checked legally, provided the check is rendered immediately following his loss of possession.

http://www.nhl.com/hockeyu/rulebook/rule67.html

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Nov 13, 2006 1:24 pm

Nice story about Patrick Roy's adjustment to coaching:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/halloffam ... LHeadlines

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Nov 13, 2006 1:31 pm

Brashear and Colton Orr went Saturday night. Not a bad, short scrap, but I would have liked to have seen Orr stay on his feet longer:

http://www.ericmcerlain.com/offwingopin ... 006734.php

Take care,
PK

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Mon Nov 13, 2006 1:40 pm

pk500 wrote:Nice story about Patrick Roy's adjustment to coaching:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/halloffam ... LHeadlines Take care,
PK

Arguably the best goaltender in the NHL, he deserves the HOF today.

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Mon Nov 13, 2006 2:58 pm

Now that the Hawks have stopped the bleeding with a shootout loss against the Devils and back-to-back wins against the Blues and Bluejackets, hopefully they can tread water until they get healthy. Bulin could be back this week but no Havlat until December. Now Bourque is out 3-6 weeks. I'm still holding out hope for an 8th seed but these injuries are killing them.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 10:48 am

Interesting read from James Mirtle of the Globe and Mail about how the "Wild West" is no longer in the NHL, as the high-scoring offenses and open play now are in the Eastern Conference:

http://mirtle.blogspot.com/2006/11/shif ... rence.html

Mirtle's blog is excellent, by the way.

Take care,
PK

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 12:56 pm

Interesting article PK. However things will change with the status of the Northwest conference. If you look at the two other conferences, 5 clear playoff contenders emerge, there are clear winners and losers. In contrast, the NW is made up of 5 teams which are relatively close to one another, which should prevent any one team from running away with the division.

Minni is hot mainly because of Manny and you can say they are doing it so far without M. Gaborik but I don't see them keeping their torrid pace in the long run. However they will make the playoffs this year.

One of the reasons the Eastern Conference seem more attractive to the eye while watching a Hockey game these days is no doubt the drafting of the young players such as in the case of WAS & PITT where in the West, only three teams have amassed a nice core of young talent and they are NAS, ANA & SJ. Come Playoff time you'll have the usual suspects making it such as DAL, DET, CAL but I doubt they'll make it past the 1st round.

Interesting how he mentions that in the West everyone is trying to outgoalie each other but then again that's where most of the HOT keepers are and come playoff time, they are key to the success of any team.

When is the West going to see the young guns like Crosby, Stall, Malkin, Ovechkin? Well if Phoenix finishes worse than Philly this year, there's a chance. Other potential high draft picks will rest in CHI, COLU and St. Louis. With G. Gallant being fired yesterday, I wonder when #99 will step aside.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 1:02 pm

What's the status with R. Smith, PK? I saw that kneeing incident at the end of the game, do you think EDM has NOV 30th marked down in their calendar? That type of sticking you leg out bothers me more than anything because it's an obvious action and it leads to serious knee injuries (Geez, I couldn't play for 6 months at one point).

I don't think J.M. Liles is a dirty player but it was stupid what he did yesterday.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 1:11 pm

10spro wrote:What's the status with R. Smith, PK? I saw that kneeing incident at the end of the game, do you think EDM has NOV 30th marked down in their calendar? That type of sticking you leg out bothers me more than anything because it's an obvious action and it leads to serious knee injuries (Geez, I couldn't play for 6 months at one point).

I don't think J.M. Liles is a dirty player but it was stupid what he did yesterday.

No question, on all accounts.

Both the Edmonton Journal and Edmonton Sun said this morning Smytty's injury is a charley horse. But MacT also warned that Charlie Huddy once had a charley horse that required draining of blood, so it's going to be a painful injury, either way.

Could have been a lot worse, though.

Nov. 28 and Nov. 30 will be fun games at Rexall. On Nov. 28, Pronger returns to Edmonton for the first time since The Trade. Nov. 30 is Spatula Night at Rexall, as that's what Colorado will need to remove that punk John-Michael Liles from the boards after someone on the Oil gets through with him.

Take care,
PK

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 9:07 pm

In honour of arguably one of the best Captains in the NHL in Mark Messier, there's a new monthly leadership award to be given to the deserved player.

First winner: B. Shanahan.