Acciari hit by Dillon - 5min major (suspended 3 games)

[BagHead]

Dillon plays a pretty rough game, and sometimes that leads to crossing the line, accidentally or not. I've watched him injure multiple players now, and seen hockey fans say "he barely hit him" every time. I honestly don't know if he goes out there intending to injure guys (though I can think of 3 injuries he's caused off the top of my head), but that is the end result of his style that he plays and sometimes he'll have to pay for it.

 

[JetsWillFly4Ever]

I think it was more unfortunate than malicious, but it was pretty much all head contact. Wouldn't be surprised with a game or 2, which is reasonable.

In the old days Acciari would be dead. Dillon could have killed him but went very slowly into the contact. Didn't look like he was trying to hit him hard.

 

[Sol]

I'm guessing because of the angle of approach and that Dillon didn't hit squarely to Acciari's body. He comes in East-West and gets mostly the head with some body contact.

If Dillon comes straight at Acciari up the boards, he would hit solidly to the body and still make head contact due to Acciari's position, but it would be legal.

He seems to get him pretty straight on. There’s zero clip. He hits him from the front. There’s nothing illegal about this hit. In hockey they ask players to not make themselves vulnerable for instances like this so that a completely legal form of a check results in head contact. There was nothing wrong with Dillons form however Acciari stuck his head out last second. He made himself vulnerable, I can’t see how Dillon is going to have enough time to react to that as well as he’s already being responsible by having clean form, no illegal arm extensions or anything. He already covered himself.

Dillon can 100 percent challenge this because he legally did nothing wrong.

 

[Zirakzigil]

If you extend your head out and the other player has his arm tucked in, who is responsible for the position they put themselves in? Why are you acting like Dillon did something illegal? Show me where you see him targeting the head? I see zero extension. I see a player with his arm tucked in standing up right, and I see a player with his head completely outstretched from the rest of his body making it be the first point of contact. Acciari has a responsibility to himself to not make himself so vulnerable because any hit unless delivered by midget wouldn’t have hit his head there. And even Dillion would have had no time to adjust himself with how late Acciari extended his head outwards. It’s like running head first into a wall and blaming the wall for the damage you took when you’re the one who ran head first into it.

It is up to the player initiating contact to avoid head contact. Why are you acting like Dillion didn’t break the rules? It was video reviewed in game as a 5min major. Dillion is at fault.

 

[Ted Hoffman]

I've gone back and forth on further discipline on this one. After watching more video, I think he's going to get multiple games.

I'll bet he gets multiple (2) games too, and it will be the wrong call, especially when you put this up with other acts this season where there was much more intent, and the punishment was nil or perhaps a game.

Dillon's approach was East-West and he clearly chose to hit him in the head. He could have changed his approach by three degrees and hit him in the shoulder.

Ignoring the inaneness of the bolded part, I think what gets Dillon into trouble here is him raising his arm. If he leaves his arm down, Acciari still skates face-first into Dillon's shoulder and now we're arguing which is getting punished more: the act or the outcome. I've long said we should be punishing acts first, and then outcomes are an aggravating factor for deciding punishment; absent Dillon's arm coming up, I'd say maybe it's 2 for interference, but not 5 for interference. Even with what happened, it's not a match penalty and I can't believe the Do"PS" is even reviewing this ... but, I can believe it, because it's the Do"PS".

 

[Sol]

It is up to the player initiating contact to avoid head contact. Why are you acting like Dillion didn’t break the rules? It was video reviewed in game as a 5min major. Dillion is at fault.

Okay let me ask you, so if anyone throws a hit at Acciari in the position he’s in it’s illegal because if anyone but a midget delivers a hit to him it’s going to hit his head first since it’s outright extended? Is that what you’re trying to tell me? If I recall correctly we try to distinguish between malicious and unfortunate. I am pretty surprised you don’t have an issue with the position Acciari put himself in but you have an issue with Dillon.

 

[Czechboy]

I hate hate hate headshots, whats the hockey play here? I think this situation opens an interesting debate.

Acciari skated in a way that made legal contact straight up impossible to perform without a big injury risk. See screenshot below, right before the contact happened. He is skating fast by the board, leading heavily with his head, FACING the board.

Dillon didnt charge or anything. He positioned himseof against the board and used his shoulder to stop Acciari's progression and separate him from the puck.

On one hand, the onus is on the defending player to recognize a dangerous situation and not apply actions with unreasonable risks.

On the other hand... in this example Acciari skated the whole neutral zone in a vulnerable position. Can an offensive player effectively remove physical play from hockey by virtue of putting themselves in a vulnerable position long enough? How long is too long?

Ie. With the way Acciari was skating, there was no way to use physical play safely to separate him from the puck. Do we still put the onus on the Jets and Dillon to only use stick checks? How far can Acciari skate in a vulnerable position and the Jets unable to touch him? Could he have gone the whole 2/3 of the ice being invulnerable to hits due to being in a vulnerable position?

Sucks to see such plays, it seems more of an unfortunate accident resulting from a hockey play than a deliberate intent to injured though.

I would just like to point out the Jets player that is barely in the picture (behind the hit) is skating in the exact same position with his head leaning first.

I would love to see some pics of hockey players at any professional level that don't skate with their head out front when accelerating.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

He seems to get him pretty straight on. There’s zero clip. He hits him from the front. There’s nothing illegal about this hit. In hockey they ask players to not make themselves vulnerable for instances like this so that a completely legal form of a check results in head contact. There was nothing wrong with Dillons form however Acciari stuck his head out last second. He made himself vulnerable, I can’t see how Dillon is going to have enough time to react to that as well as he’s already being responsible by having clean form, no illegal arm extensions or anything. He already covered himself.

Dillon can 100 percent challenge this because he legally did nothing wrong.

Your clip shows that he came in at an east-west angle, which is a poor angle of approach, and picks the head while making very little body contact. Rule 48.1 spells out that kind of hit is illegal.

To me the key is how little contact Dillon makes with Acciari's body.

 

[bleedgreen]

I don’t see intent with this, Dillon chose his route and held his ground. I get why in todays game he’ll get some punishment but I see no intent to injure and he shouldn’t be vilified for it. Acciari didn’t have the space to make the moves he tried.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

Okay let me ask you, so if anyone throws a hit at Acciari in the position he’s in it’s illegal because if anyone but a midget delivers a hit to him it’s going to hit his head first since it’s outright extended? Is that what you’re trying to tell me? If I recall correctly we try to distinguish between malicious and unfortunate. I am pretty surprised you don’t have an issue with the position Acciari put himself in but you have an issue with Dillon.

Rule 48.1 makes it pretty clear that if a player hits squarely through an opponent's body, head contact can still be legal if it is otherwise unavoidable.

Had Dillon come straight on at Acciari he likely would've hit him squarely to the body though there also still would've been head contact due to Acciari's position. But because Dillon hit the body squarely, that head contact would be deemed unavoidable and therefore legal.

 

[Sol]

Your clip shows that he came in at an east-west angle, which is a poor angle of approach, and picks the head while making very little body contact. Rule 48.1 spells out that kind of hit is illegal.

To me the key is how little contact Dillon makes with Acciari's body.

Rule 48.1 (Illegal Check to the Head) used to read as follows: "A hit resulting in contact with an opponent's head where the head is targeted and the principal point of contact is not permitted." Personally, I found the "targeting" issue difficult to determine at times

Tell me, in Acciaris positioning, where would Dillon make first point of contact? His head is sticking out in front of his body. How can anyone claim he targeted his head rather than acciari gave him no choice with his positioning to hit him in the head. It’s so unrealistic to expect Dillon to change his course of action when acciari sticks his head out in the last few frames.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

Rule 48.1 (Illegal Check to the Head) used to read as follows: "A hit resulting in contact with an opponent's head where the head is targeted and the principal point of contact is not permitted." Personally, I found the "targeting" issue difficult to determine at times

Tell me, in Acciaris positioning, where would Dillon make first point of contact? His head is sticking out in front of his body. How can anyone claim he targeted his head rather than acciari gave him no choice with his positioning to hit him in the head. It’s so unrealistic to expect Dillon to change his course of action when acciari sticks his head out in the last few frames.

"Targeted" and "principle point of contact" are no longer the wording of the rule. The current rule reads:

48.1 Illegal Check to the Head – A hit resulting in contact with an opponent’s head where the head was the main point of contact and such contact to the head was avoidable is not permitted. In determining whether contact with an opponent's head was avoidable, the circumstances of the hit including the following shall be considered:
(i) Whether the player attempted to hit squarely through the opponent’s body and the head was not "picked" as a result of poor timing, poor angle of approach, or unnecessary extension of the body upward or outward.
(ii) Whether the opponent put himself in a vulnerable position by assuming a posture that made head contact on an otherwise full body check unavoidable.
(iii) Whether the opponent materially changed the position of his body or head immediately prior to or simultaneously with the hit in a way that significantly contributed to the head contact.

 

[Sol]

"Targeted" and "principle point of contact" are no longer the wording of the rule. The current rule reads:

48.1 Illegal Check to the Head – A hit resulting in contact with an opponent’s head where the head was the main point of contact and such contact to the head was avoidable is not permitted. In determining whether contact with an opponent's head was avoidable, the circumstances of the hit including the following shall be considered:
(i) Whether the player attempted to hit squarely through the opponent’s body and the head was not "picked" as a result of poor timing, poor angle of approach, or unnecessary extension of the body upward or outward.
(ii) Whether the opponent put himself in a vulnerable position by assuming a posture that made head contact on an otherwise full body check unavoidable.
(iii) Whether the opponent materially changed the position of his body or head immediately prior to or simultaneously with the hit in a way that significantly contributed to the head contact.

There you go. Head contact was unavoidable due to acciaris positioning.

Dillon should appeal the suspension. We get into theory fighting when we ask players to react robotically and pretend that reaction time isn’t a thing.

 

[Zirakzigil]

There you go. Head contact was unavoidable due to acciaris positioning.

Dillon should appeal the suspension. We get into theory fighting when we ask players to react robotically and pretend that reaction time isn’t a thing.

He’s not getting over 5 games and can’t appeal. You need to move on. He was in the wrong.

 

[Ovie's Neighbor]

That’s….not a dirty hit. It is head as primary point of contact so I get why refs said ehh let’s eject him. But he just stood his ground and is taller.

 

[Sol]

He’s not getting over 5 games and can’t appeal. You need to move on. He was in the wrong.

Well that sucks for him getting screwed by the patented George Parros wheel of punishment. Acciari put himself in a bad position. I am a fan of no team so I can understand why you as a pens fan is leaning an expected direction.

 

[Syrinx]

He seems to get him pretty straight on. There’s zero clip. He hits him from the front. There’s nothing illegal about this hit. In hockey they ask players to not make themselves vulnerable for instances like this so that a completely legal form of a check results in head contact. There was nothing wrong with Dillons form however Acciari stuck his head out last second. He made himself vulnerable, I can’t see how Dillon is going to have enough time to react to that as well as he’s already being responsible by having clean form, no illegal arm extensions or anything. He already covered himself.

Dillon can 100 percent challenge this because he legally did nothing wrong.

The greatest part of this video is that Acciari's head and torso were more upright than both of the other Jets in the frame. He was skating like players do. His face was perpendicular to the ice (head was upright) before contact. His head wasn't sticking out. This essentially disproves your point that Acciari did something wrong. It's all right there in your video.

From the other angle, Dillon is looking at him and has him lined up for several feet. He could have changed course but he chose not to. Looking at this video, had he changed his trajectory by 3 degrees, he would have hit him in the shoulder first(he barely missed the shoulder). Better yet, he would have realized that he was late (puck was long gone) and decided against a hit at all. Instead he chose the head.

 

[Zirakzigil]

Well that sucks for him getting screwed by the patented George Parros wheel of punishment. Acciari put himself in a bad position. I am a fan of no team so I can understand why you as a pens fan is leaning an expected direction.

Sigh…. He’s not getting screwed. He illegally injured another player. It’s no different than a player being 3-4 feet away and facing the boards. Dillion didn’t have to hit him. But he sure has to make sure he gets body and not head. He got him completely in the head.

 

[abo9]

I would just like to point out the Jets player that is barely in the picture (behind the hit) is skating in the exact same position with his head leaning first.

I would love to see some pics of hockey players at any professional level that don't skate with their head out front when accelerating.

Eh, thats a good point.

The other thing I pointed out in my previous reply is that Acciari faced the wall. Dillon could have tried to hit him sideways, but it would probably have also resulted in a pretty gross result no?

Just trying to understand, if Dillon gets suspended, is the basis of the suspension only the result?

thats type of hit happens multiple times a game without issue, its a pretty basic play to separate a forward from the puck near the board (or anywhere on the ice really).

 

[bleedgreen]

Sigh…. He’s not getting screwed. He illegally injured another player. It’s no different than a player being 3-4 feet away and facing the boards. Dillion didn’t have to hit him. But he sure has to make sure he gets body and not head. He got him completely in the head.

This is the problem with taking all the hitting out. There’s no time for micro adjustments. You choose your line and commit, and you’re either a clean hitter or the scum of the earth despite doing nothing different in either scenario. Guys lead with their head, it makes it tough to make contact elsewhere when it’s a north/south play like this. To me Acciari made head contact with Dillons back. Saying he didn’t have to hit him makes no sense. He’s a physical defenseman who’s told to be a physical defenseman, and this is a forward in the perfect spot to be eliminated from the play before he builds up more momentum. It was an obvious place to throw the hit, in fact not hitting him probably gets a frown from the coaches.

 

[Gunnersaurus Rex]

Clean hit. Can't believe it was even a penalty.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

Dillon is moving upwards prior to the hit, not as a result of change in momentum due to contact. If he stays level, I think he might still clip the head. and I'd say he'd have no culpability. But he did send himself upwards. That's an issue about how hitting is taught.

That's a stupid, reckless, attempt by Acciari, and it's like watching a slow-motion wreck for that reason.

This has nothing to do with technique or improper teaching. It's the natural and correct reaction to bracing for a contact and collision.

You extend upward and turn your shoulder and back to the player to the absorb the other player's contact and protect your own head and face.

Dillon has a reasonable expectation Acciari is gonna pick his head up in time and put some of his own force into him.

 

[Gunnersaurus Rex]

Principle contact was the head though.

Then don't skate with your head down leaning in to players elbows. This is all on the Penguin player.

 

[Buffdog]

Player's fanbase defends in majority it's own player. News at 11. Besides, the Jets fanbase defended the Scheifele hit on Evans nearly unanimously. Told me everything I needed to know.

That's my point.. Jets fans aren't defending Dillon. It's like you can't read or somethimg

And Jets fans by and in large had no problem with a suspension on the schief hit, but 4 games in the playoffs was way too much. Aside from it being at the end of the game, it was shoulder on chest, he glided into it and contact was made a split second after the puck left Evans stick. Not sure why anyone would think it was dirty

 

[mrcod4]

Unreal if he actually gets suspended for this.