GDT: Time To Clean The Litter Box. Canes vs Bolts

[Svechhammer]

In all honesty, it looked like Necas saw him at the last second and actually started to fall backwards before the hit, which probably helped reduce impact quite a bit. He didn't get that whiplash on his head and neck that players usually get with those kind of hits, which shows he was braced for it.

Not all players are that lucky.

This is the kind of hit that the NFL has completely outlawed with a 'hit to a defenseless receiver'. Its well past time for the NHL to follow suit.

 

[CanesFanBudMan]

I don’t have a big problem with the hit. That’s really the only way you can play the body on someone coming down the ice at 20+ MPH like that. If he did not brace for impact to the point he got off his feet after the hit Necas would have run him over.

That being said I would 100 percent expect a hit like that to cause a fight and props to Gardiner

there were uncalled elbows last night that in my mind were way more out of line

also- I hate TBL and Killorn and think we should goon it up tonight and run Point

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

I don’t have a big problem with the hit. That’s really the only way you can play the body on someone coming down the ice at 20+ MPH like that. If he did not brace for impact to the point he got off his feet after the hit Necas would have run him over.

That being said I would 100 percent expect a hit like that to cause a fight and props to Gardiner

there were uncalled elbows last night that in my mind were way more out of line

also- I hate TBL and Killorn and think we should goon it up tonight and run Point

This is the bigger deal to me from the reffing standpoint. Bewildering that TB fans were complaining about game management when we had two separate guys bloodied by uncalled elbows (admittedly one was borderline). Add to that the Nino call that wasn't really an elbow.

From the "mad at people" standpoint I'm more mad at Killorn for the theatrics than the hit.

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

What the hell was up with all the boo birds last night? They were relentless the whole game.

the boo birds happened after Hamilton stopped caring about infractions and basically begged the refs to call someone on him. He took a run at Point and then was jamming his stick at the puck for a couple of other skaters causing trips. It was all in the last 3-4 minutes of the game. No calls = fans booing.

 

[AD Skinner]

The theatrics were douchey but the hit itself wasn't as bad as the sneaky "oh I didn't see him" elbows that were getting thrown around. Like there's bracing or reverse hitting which is one thing but doing it with an elbow is pretty sleazy. Either way should be another entertaining one tonight

 

[Joe McGrath]

This is the bigger deal to me from the reffing standpoint. Bewildering that TB fans were complaining about game management when we had two separate guys bloodied by uncalled elbows (admittedly one was borderline). Add to that the Nino call that wasn't really an elbow.

From the "mad at people" standpoint I'm more mad at Killorn for the theatrics than the hit.

Hey Killorn brought his career fight record up to 2-2-1 by not actually landing a punch against a guy who hasn’t had a fight in 8 years. Big accomplishment for sure.

 

[tarheelhockey]

The fact that this hit is being compared to Scott Stevens lobotomizing people is kind of crazy, y’all. This one isn’t even in the same category of maliciousness and danger level.

 

[Sens1Canes2]

I'm so tired of this take.

Looking at the puck shouldn't be a green light for a defender to crush your head with his shoulder or elbow. This kind of hit should not be legal. The NHL already protects prone players along the boards where you're sent to the box for checking someone if you see the numbers, its time to protect the guys in the open ice who might have to take their eyes off the play for a second.

A clean hit should not lead to a concussion. If it does, its not a clean f***ing hit. This league has a concussion problem and until they pull their heads out of their asses and actually start protecting the players, its never going to get any better. You would have thought they would have learned this lesson when they lost a generational talent like Lindros to multiple concussions back in the 90s, you would have thought that the concussion to a league darling like Francis would have done it, you'd have thought that watching Sami Kapanen flail around like a fish out of water in the 2003 playoffs against Toronto would have been enough, but nope. The league doesn't care. It wants these big hits. It wants brains to be scrambled on the regular, because to them, unless you're one of the chosen protected few like Ovechkin, Crosby, and McDavid, you're disposable and your health isn't as important as the bottom line.

are pearls being clutched here? Come on man. Awareness of where you are on the ice, and the defenders between you and the net, are an integral part of the game. Otherwise, it’s a fastest skater contest with no fear of being body checked legally at any time.
It was a legal hit. Sorry it tuned him up a little bit. He’ll learn. Just because a player gets injured on a legal play, doesn’t mean the play should be in future deemed illegal.

 

[Chrispy]

are pearls being clutched here? Come on man. Awareness of where you are on the ice, and the defenders between you and the net, are an integral part of the game. Otherwise, it’s a fastest skater contest with no fear of being body checked legally at any time.
It was a legal hit. Sorry it tuned him up a little bit. He’ll learn. Just because a player gets injured on a legal play, doesn’t mean the play should be in future deemed illegal.

Yeah, Necas was asking for it skating on the damn ice. And why was he dressed so sexy?

 

[Sens1Canes2]

Yeah, Necas was asking for it skating on the damn ice. And why was he dressed so sexy?

Wait. Was it a legal hit?

 

[Chrispy]

Wait. Was it a legal hit?

He was leaving his feet when he made contact. Charge IMO.

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

Wait. Was it a legal hit?

This is the crux of the issue. Many here say yes. Tripp said no (as Tripp is oft to do).

 

[Joe McGrath]

I honestly don’t know what a legal hit is anymore. Lorentz got a penalty for an illegal check to the head where the principle point of contact was the guys chest.

 

[chaz4hockey]

are pearls being clutched here? Come on man. Awareness of where you are on the ice, and the defenders between you and the net, are an integral part of the game. Otherwise, it’s a fastest skater contest with no fear of being body checked legally at any time.
It was a legal hit. Sorry it tuned him up a little bit. He’ll learn. Just because a player gets injured on a legal play, doesn’t mean the play should be in future deemed illegal.

agree with analysis in that play was probably legal under current nhl rules (should it be going forward as someone mentioned re: NFL comparison is another story). I was more perturbed about the no call blatant elbows by Bolts D that got Necas and Paquette (Cernak I believe). Schenn also was dirty too. The histrionics after a play in which player was injured also was classless.

Bolts D are big men and they are readying for playoff hockey which means they are going to try to intimidate the smaller and younger Canes.

The way to beat them is for our PP to click and for our bigger guys to play “heavy”. I didn’t think they played tough enough last night and our big acquisition seemed to get lost in the moment last night (he needs to punish every Bolts forward that gets in his territory, particularly Point, etc.). Dougie too needs to use his size and be more physical.

Unfortunately, refs call different games in the playoffs and as we saw last night, a lot of illegal physical play was not penalized (Dougie got away with several trips at the end too...maybe makeup for missing physical calls or just letting the boys play?).

 

[tarheelhockey]

He was leaving his feet when he made contact. Charge IMO.

Both his skates were flat on the ice until well after the point of contact. Necas actually left his feet before Killorn did.

There’s no precedent for calling a hit like this a charge.

 

[CanesUltimate11]

I honestly don’t know what a legal hit is anymore. Lorentz got a penalty for an illegal check to the head where the principle point of contact was the guys chest.

This. part of the problem is no one knows if this will be legal hit from game to game... hell from period to period. Tom Wilson throws this hit and its a better than even chance of it being 5 and game.

While I do agree it's legal based on the current rules I just don't like the launching aspect of these hits. I'll freely admit I didn't play high level checking ice hockey but for the life of me I can't figure out how that is a good way to hit. There just seems to be so much more of a chance of head contact then just driving your shoulder straight through a guys chest.

 

[zman77]

Recap: Canes Erase Two-Goal Deficit to Earn Point

Mrazek makes 33 saves in 3-2 overtime loss

by Michael Smith @MSmithCanes / Hurricanes.com
"Our goalie bailed us out all game," head coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "We had spurts where we were playing it right, but it wasn't good enough. The fact that we got a point out of that was pretty good, and we had a chance to win."
Minus: Not good enough
The main takeaway from the Canes' postgame comments was that they didn't have their best game. And that can't happen on the road against the defending Stanley Cup champions, a team that is nipping at the Canes' heels in the Central Division standings. It just wasn't good enough for long enough.
"When you're playing the best team in hockey, you can't play the way we did," Brind'Amour said. "We can't play two periods like that and then expect to get anything out of it."
The positive is that even though the Canes didn't have their best, they were never out of the game. They snagged a point and had opportunities to get a second in overtime. Another positive? The Canes get right back at it less than 24 hours from now.
Recap: Canes Erase Two-Goal Deficit to Earn Point
"We didn't play our game," Brind'Amour said. "It's all about the little plays we didn't do tonight, and we spent way too much time in our own end because of it. We need to up the ante a little bit if we want to get to a playoff-level type game."

 

[WreckingCrew]

I honestly don’t know what a legal hit is anymore. Lorentz got a penalty for an illegal check to the head where the principle point of contact was the guys chest.

And Troch got called for elbowing with his back that a guy ran into

 

[A Star is Burns]

I think it was borderline, but I don't have a major issue with it. Definitely disliked the elbows more.

 

[CanesFanBudMan]

Both his skates were flat on the ice until well after the point of contact. Necas actually left his feet before Killorn did.

There’s no precedent for calling a hit like this a charge.

Agree:

Charging shall mean that the actions of a player or goalkeeper who, as a result of distance traveled, shall violently check and opponent in any manner. A "charge" may be the result of a check into the boards, into the goal frame or in open ice.

Killorn was almost stationary compared to Necas at the time of the hit. He did power through him and ended up leaving his feet after the hit, but that’s not a penalty. That zone entry play was always risky and I bet we might see it less now

 

[Chrispy]

Both his skates were flat on the ice until well after the point of contact. Necas actually left his feet before Killorn did.

There’s no precedent for calling a hit like this a charge.

Necas leaving his feet isn't relevant; he actually has one foot off the ground before contact in an effort to avoid the brunt of the hit.

He launched up into the shoulder hit to the head in the picture on the previous page. His skates were leaving the ground; he did not leave the ground because of Necas.

The charging rule does not state you are fine leaving your feet after a check. In fact:

"This includes skating or leaving one's feet (jumping) into the opponent to deliver a check, accelerating through a check for the purpose of punishing the opponent, or skating a great distance for the purpose of delivering a check with excessive force."

Jumping through a check is not discerned from jumping before a check according to that wording. Jumping into the opponent is illegal. As it should be; that is a more dangerous hit than jumping toward the player and crashing into him.

 

[CanesFanBudMan]

Necas leaving his feet isn't relevant; he actually has one foot off the ground before contact in an effort to avoid the brunt of the hit.

He launched up into the shoulder hit to the head in the picture on the previous page. His skates were leaving the ground; he did not leave the ground because of Necas.

The charging rule does not state you are fine leaving your feet after a check. In fact:

"This includes skating or leaving one's feet (jumping) into the opponent to deliver a check, accelerating through a check for the purpose of punishing the opponent, or skating a great distance for the purpose of delivering a check with excessive force."

Jumping through a check is not discerned from jumping before a check according to that wording. Jumping into the opponent is illegal. As it should be; that is a more dangerous hit than jumping toward the player and crashing into him.

That’s from the US hockey rule book, not the NHL rule book

 

[Chrispy]

That’s from the US hockey rule book, not the NHL rule book

And the NHL rule is similar:

" A minor or major penalty shall be imposed on a player who skates, jumps into or charges an opponent in any manner. Charging shall mean the actions of a player who, as a result of distance traveled, shall violently check an opponent in any manner."

Jumping into the check is still illegal even if you leave your feet with the check instead of before.

There's actually a lot of dangerous play the NHL could cut down on by calling charging by the book. But like cross-checking, they appear to be looking the other way for a lot of infractions right now.

 

[CanesUltimate11]

And the NHL rule is similar:

" A minor or major penalty shall be imposed on a player who skates, jumps into or charges an opponent in any manner. Charging shall mean the actions of a player who, as a result of distance traveled, shall violently check an opponent in any manner."

Jumping into the check is still illegal even if you leave your feet with the check instead of before.

Except the NHL has clearly determined that as long as one tip of one skate is on the ice at the moment of impact that's all that's needed to make it legal. So much like the majority of cross checks it ain't illegal.

 

[tarheelhockey]

And the NHL rule is similar:

" A minor or major penalty shall be imposed on a player who skates, jumps into or charges an opponent in any manner. Charging shall mean the actions of a player who, as a result of distance traveled, shall violently check an opponent in any manner."

Jumping into the check is still illegal even if you leave your feet with the check instead of before.

There's actually a lot of dangerous play the NHL could cut down on by calling charging by the book. But like cross-checking, they appear to be looking the other way for a lot of infractions right now.

Jumping through a hit after contact has already been made is not charging and has never been called that way, ever. When the rulebook says "jumps into" a hit, they're talking about jumping INTO the hit, not exploding upwards out of it.

Do I wish it was called that way? Sure. I think it would be a safer league without losing much of anything, probably resulting in more entertaining hip checks rather than high hits. I also wish it gave us a major power play and we used that opportunity to win in regulation and we all woke up this morning sunshine and rainbows. But none of that is the reality. The reality is that Necas skated full-speed into a legal open ice body check and this being the NHL rather than a beer league, he was punished for it.