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Messier hitting an injured Linden - Game 6, 1994

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blood gin

blood gin

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Jan 17, 2017
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During the waning moments of the game a Ranger (forget who, can somebody fill me in?) hits Linden with a forearm or elbow in the mouth as he tried to enter the zone. Linden was far away from the puck and shook up, going down to his knees. He was hobbled and needed to get off the ice. Messier then sees this in the process of backchecking and decides to hit him again...which is about as cheap and low a thing as you can do, hitting a defenseless and injured player. This of course inspired the famous "He'll play on crutches!" call from Robson.

My question is...did anybody actually see the hit on Linden by Messier?

I remember the TV camera panned to the Rangers zone at the time and we couldn't see what was happening in front of the benches. I never actually saw a picture or replay of the Messier hit on an injured Linden. Was he just shoving him out of the way or was it one of those flying elbows?
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The blindside crosscheck or elbow to the head was someone else.. Graves/Anderson maybe? I forget.

Messier hitting him while he was down was just typical dirtbag Messier leadership on display. Zero sportsmanship.

The fact that the NHL has an ego award for Messier just boggles my mind. I respect him as a great player and I even understand the do what it takes to win attitude.. but it is a game. There is a line there.

As for the original post: I don't think I can remember there being a camera on Messier hitting him while he was down. But if you watch the clips available you can hear the play-by-play describing it because it is just off camera.
 
BraveCanadian said:
Messier hitting him while he was down was just typical dirtbag Messier leadership on display. Zero sportsmanship.

The fact that the NHL has an ego award for Messier just boggles my mind. I respect him as a great player and I even understand the do what it takes to win attitude.. but it is a game. There is a line there.
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Indeed. I dont think he ever really thought of the "game" as a "game" but instead as a "battlefield" & that this was "war", which is fine provided you realize that there are Rules of Engagement written, spoken & unspoken..... didnt think of himself as a "player" but instead as a "warrior" engaging in both physical & psychological warfare, willing to do anything for the 'W' however in being the mercenary he was by that point in his career, completely ruthless, totally dispassionate, sociopathic... impossible not to conclude such based on how he comported himself in the dressing room (according to numerous anecdotal reports by those "in the know") & on the ice. Couldnt stand the guy since I first became aware of, watched him with the Oilers a decade earlier. And thats pretty rare for me, to actually dislike any hockey player as we all have our faults hockey player or not. I even saw enough good in another "Captain" & player/person in Bobby Clarke to hold him in some esteem, respect. And with Messier, as I said, my low opinion of that one formed long before he arrived in New York or Vancouver.
 
needmorefighting said:
During the waning moments of the game a Ranger (forget who, can somebody fill me in?) hits Linden with a forearm or elbow in the mouth as he tried to enter the zone.
Click to expand...

Graves. I lost a lot of respect for the NHL when Messier was not suspended for game 7.
 
needmorefighting said:
My question is...did anybody actually see the hit on Linden by Messier?

I remember the TV camera panned to the Rangers zone at the time and we couldn't see what was happening in front of the benches. I never actually saw a picture or replay of the Messier hit on an injured Linden. Was he just shoving him out of the way or was it one of those flying elbows?
Click to expand...

It's like in a horror movie, where it's left up to the imagination, and you can think Messier is as awful as you want him to be.

Trevor Linden said:
So I was just basically trying to crawl to the bench and that’s when Messier kind of rolled over the top of me.
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Linden still scored 2 goals in game 7 after that play. Its amazing to think how close we were to see the narrative changing to Linden being a playoff warrior. That would have cemented his legacy.

Anyways, I remember the uproar in the crowd after that Messier incident, but I don't remember actually seeing exactly what happened. It wouldn't surprise me if Messier put in a major cheap shot. He was kind of a whacko on the ice.

Check out his stick swinging threat on Larry Robinson (Scroll to 1:35). Don't let the back half his career fool you. Messier was a nasty piece of business.

 
The more I learn about Messier the more I feel that he genuinely was a terrible person. Great player and his attitude helped his team to win no doubt. But like someone here already said, he was more like a warrior at war (and not patriotic one, but the kind of warrior who would fight for anyone just to get to draw some blood) than a player in a game.
 
Plural said:
Is that the hardest moment you have had to experience as a fan?
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As a Canucks fan,... not even close! :cry:


Keenan, Messier, Cloutier, Burrows, ... and those are just guys in our own organization! To be a Canucks fan is to enjoy suffering. (Let's lose the cup final then trade away Luongo, Kesler and Bieksa, the three guys who were most competitive in getting us to the final and double down on the Sedins, but not build around them, just add bit parts and do nothing for another half decade).
 
VanIslander said:
In Game 6? I didn't. And I was glued to the tube.

I did see both of Linden's Game 7 goals :nod: and Messier's game/series/cup winning goal. :cry:
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Messier never touched that puck. That's either Graves or Noonan's goal. Probably Noonan's all the way.
 
Killion said:
Indeed. I dont think he ever really thought of the "game" as a "game" but instead as a "battlefield" & that this was "war", which is fine provided you realize that there are Rules of Engagement written, spoken & unspoken..... didnt think of himself as a "player" but instead as a "warrior" engaging in both physical & psychological warfare, willing to do anything for the 'W' however in being the mercenary he was by that point in his career, completely ruthless, totally dispassionate, sociopathic... impossible not to conclude such based on how he comported himself in the dressing room (according to numerous anecdotal reports by those "in the know") & on the ice. Couldnt stand the guy since I first became aware of, watched him with the Oilers a decade earlier. And thats pretty rare for me, to actually dislike any hockey player as we all have our faults hockey player or not. I even saw enough good in another "Captain" & player/person in Bobby Clarke to hold him in some esteem, respect. And with Messier, as I said, my low opinion of that one formed long before he arrived in New York or Vancouver.
Click to expand...

Messier was a dirty bafoon. Expert at punshing players from behind while they were engaged in a fight with someone else. Messier has extremely little respect from me. He was a *******.
 
Hackett said:
Linden still scored 2 goals in game 7 after that play. Its amazing to think how close we were to see the narrative changing to Linden being a playoff warrior. That would have cemented his legacy.
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Linden has a legacy as a playoff warrior.
 
Yep, db move by Messier, but typical of the nasty game he played... right up until he signed with the Canucks. After that, not a whiff of edge to his play. One of the things that most pissed me off about him, quite frankly.
 
FerrisRox said:
A guy that never won anything has a legacy of a playoff warrior?

No, no he doesn't. Not even close.
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From what I can remember, Linden was a good playoff performer. It's not all on him for not winning any Cups. Hockey is a team game. Linden did his part.
 
Ogie Goldthorpe said:
Yep, db move by Messier, but typical of the nasty game he played... right up until he signed with the Canucks. After that, not a whiff of edge to his play. One of the things that most pissed me off about him, quite frankly.
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this seems accurate.
 
FerrisRox said:
A guy that never won anything has a legacy of a playoff warrior?

No, no he doesn't. Not even close.
Click to expand...

Linden had 80 playoff points in 79 games in his first stint in Vancouver and repeatedly came up big in game 7s. That's better than Claude Lemieux. Better than Justin Williams.

Hockey is a team sport. If Messier played in Vancouver his entire career he would have a total amount of 0 Cups. If Claude Lemieux played his entire career in Vancouver he would have 0 Cups. If Justin Williams played his entire career in Vancouver he would also have 0 Cups.
 
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Didn't Messier viciously slash someone in the 2nd or 3rd last game of his career, but the NHL refused to suspend him so he wouldn't miss his finale?
 
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