NHL 2011-12 Season

[RageofKronos]

Similar to the illegal chop block in football a low bridge is deemed to be a cheap play because rather than taking the hit the player performing the low bridge tries to to undercut the hitting player which could result in serious injury to the knees, head etc.

So the player is supposed to take the hit? He just avoids him, be doesn't cut him. In fact they never touched!

If this is the way the NHL operates, no wonder why it doesn't have mass appeal in the U . S. Seriously, you're supposed to take the hit instead of avoiding it? That's crazy.

[Sven XC [sherpa]]

So the player is supposed to take the hit? He just avoids him, be doesn't cut him. In fact they never touched!

If this is the way the NHL operates, no wonder why it doesn't have mass appeal in the U . S. Seriously, you're supposed to take the hit instead of avoiding it? That's crazy.

In my opinion, what Malkin did was fine, it wasn't a low-bridge duck, just more of a side-step duck and Vinny just ends up running the boards (happens all the time). For a true low-bridge hit you should look at the Marchand hit on Salo...now that is a dirty play and Salo received a concussion from it.

As to your "crazy" comment, hitting is a part of hockey as much as hitting is a part of football. Players will try to avoid being hit wherever possible, but some instances you either can't avoid it, or you can't avoid it safely. That's the issue right now, guys are avoiding hits by putting the hitter at risk of injury instead of taking the bump and playing on. To bring up the Marchand hit again, if he had simply taken the hit from Salo they both would have skated away unscathed instead Salo's out with the concussion and Marchand gets 5 games for a dangerous hit.

[GrnMtnDragon [sherpa]]

As a Bruins fan, Marchand deserved the 5 games he got even though I don't think he intended to hurt Salo. However, since emotions were running really high because of all the bullshit that went on last year and that revved up again when Vancouver came to town, it's entirely possible there was some extra motivation behind it. As a team mate of Marc Savard, who had his career ended by a dirty player, I have a hard time believing Marchand intended for Salo to get a concussion. Nevertheless, by all accounts, Shanahan is doing a fantastic job of policing the game and there is no place in it for things like what Marchand did.

And hockey DOES have mass appeal in the United States, just not in warm weather climates where schools and colleges don't play the game. If the kids don't learn or play the game young, it's hard for them to be fans when they grow up. The NFL trumps all sports in most markets, but in most cold weather cities, hockey takes a back seat to nothing else.

[TC Mooch]

As a Bruins fan, Marchand deserved the 5 games he got even though I don't think he intended to hurt Salo. However, since emotions were running really high because of all the bullshit that went on last year and that revved up again when Vancouver came to town, it's entirely possible there was some extra motivation behind it. As a team mate of Marc Savard, who had his career ended by a dirty player, I have a hard time believing Marchand intended for Salo to get a concussion. Nevertheless, by all accounts, Shanahan is doing a fantastic job of policing the game and there is no place in it for things like what Marchand did.

And hockey DOES have mass appeal in the United States, just not in warm weather climates where schools and colleges don't play the game. If the kids don't learn or play the game young, it's hard for them to be fans when they grow up. The NFL trumps all sports in most markets, but in most cold weather cities, hockey takes a back seat to nothing else.

I agree with you Dragon. To me, Marchand didn't want to hurt anybody, but at the end of the day, you need to take that hit for the safety of both players. To me, and I haven't watched the clip in awhile, it didn't look like Salo was flying in there at high speed either. He was just applying some forecheck pressure. The low-bridge wasn't needed as the hit wasn't going to be a bonecrushing monster hit anyways.

And yes, hockey does have mass appeal...especially in Minnesota. In Minnesota, it would be said high school hockey and some college hockey programs has more appeal here than any other sport, professional or amateur.

[RageofKronos]

ESPN did compare it to the Marchand hit, that's where I was confused. I guess Milberry, a well known goon, thought that ducking and trying to score is less honorable than taking the hit and/or fighting. Even though Malkin is older than 12, LOL!

I guess I was just looking at the TV ratings on the mass appeal issue. There seem to be pockets where it is very popular.

I've only been watching for about a year but am really beginning to get into it.

[GrnMtnDragon [sherpa]]

The NHL has to do something about the absolutely horrible officiating that's taking place. Today's Bruins / Rangers game was one of the best games all season, hard fought all the way into OT tied 2-2. Then with 3+ minutes left, the f'ing refs call a 5 minute major on the Bruins for a hit that was barely even a 2 minute penalty. All because Tortorella, who has got to be the biggest whining douchebag in the league, spent the entire day barking at the refs.

Then, after the Bruins nearly kill off the entire 3 minutes, with just seconds left the linesmen miss what was a blatant intentional offsides by the Rangers that should have brought the faceoff all the way back to the Rangers zone. And of course, they end up scoring with 3 seconds left. Once again, the officials determine the outcome of a game that should have been decided on the ice by the players ... and there's hardly any surprise that their favoritism benefits the largest TV market.

That gigantic fecal gasbag Tortorella should have been fined $100K and suspended for his comments after the Winter Classic. Instead, he gets away with this crap. Unbelievable.

[KAZUYA]

It was a hard hitting game, probably one of the best games of the year. The Bruins are a terrific team and I got the feeling that Rangers/Bruins will see again in the post season, IF we make it.

Dragon, I won't say anything about your comments cuz if you see one of your players hit like that... I'm sure you will be asking for that guy head.

[GrnMtnDragon [sherpa]]

Dragon, I won't say anything about your comments cuz if you see one of your players hit like that... I'm sure you will be asking for that guy head.

There was certainly no intent to injure as Ference is a tough but clean player who can skate his ass off. I didn't think it was an illegal hit at the time and I still don't ... I saw a camera angle which showed that all Ference did was go hard after the puck right alongside the Ranger. Ference pushed him and he hit the boards because both of them were skating hard. While it might have been a 2 minute elbowing call, it should not have been a major. The ref called it Charging, which is complete crap since the players were skating shoulder to shoulder after the puck. Shanahan gave Ference a 3 game suspension because he HAD TO as a result of the ref calling it a major. I saw dirtier plays than that by both teams in that game and again on Sunday in the Flyers game which the Bruins won in a shootout.

It's all over and done with at this point and if Shanahan is right (which he has been for most of the season) then I'm wrong. But I refuse to believe the hit and the intent merited a major penalty, which is what gave the Rangers the win and was why I was so pissed off. And Tortorella is still a douchebag.

[Sven XC [sherpa]]

You're also a Bruins fan so I feel there might be a tiny bit of bias in there somewhere!

[GrnMtnDragon [sherpa]]

You're also a Bruins fan so I feel there might be a tiny bit of bias in there somewhere!

No, not really ... I'm still pretty sure that Tortorella is a douchebag.