All-Purpose Hockey Thread II

I think the 'Canes might have been tired and looking forward to a day off before getting smoked by the Isles. Speaking of Long Island's hockey team, they really work hard. They outplayed Pittsburgh yesterday, banging the Pens up and down the dilapidated rink.

What's with Crosby's groin? He skated in pregame and looked pretty good. And what's Malkin's status after receiving a high, nasty, legal elbow from Brendan Witt?

 

I didn't see the play, but how high an elbow are you talking?

 

It looked like it was shoulder-high, and Malkin left the game afterwards.

It was a retaliatory shot. In the second, DiPietro played the puck behind the net and Malkin collided with him, knocking off the $67.5 million man's mask off.

 

And, no, the Pens made no effort whatsoever to retaliate -- even in the slightest.

 

Probably because Sidney Crosby was missing; he seems to be the only guy with the necessary stones. Recently when Jonathan Cheechoo choo-chooed a Pens D from behind and into the boards, Crosby was the first one on the scene and he was all over Cheechoo in a heartbeat.

And when Crosby has to be the guy who retaliates on behalf of your team, then you have a serious fucking problem in your dressing room.

 

The Toronto Star has an interesting feature called "40 Years Ago," looking back through its archives to see what the Leafs were doing at this point during their last Stanley Cup season.

In today's paper:

After recovering from shoulder and back injuries that had sidelined him since training camp, goaltender Johnny Bower finally made his season debut in a 2-2 tie with Chicago Nov. 20. He was so eager to play he forgot to remove his false teeth.

"There's a club rule against playing with plates because of the danger," Bower told Red Burnett. "You could choke on the pieces if they get broken."

The Leafs lost defenceman Bob Baun for the third time that season when a Bobby Hull slapshot broke his toe. Baun had previously been out with a broken thumb and a broken nose.

Nov. 25, 1967 (sic): 5-3-7

Poor Bobby Baun. You can bet, too, that he dealt with a few other injuries besides these and the famous broken ankle in the 1964 final.

Something I didn't know about the man -- he was a trained chef and wine connoisseur during his playing days. Or so I read in "The Last Hurrah," a great Stephen Cole book about the 1966-67 season.

 

Not true. Chris Thorburn did everything in his power to goad Witt into a fight. However, since there were less than five minutes remaining in the game, if Witt and Thorburn fought, both would have been suspended. So, Witt kept skating away.

On a completely unrelated note, it is Bob Bourne Night at the Coliseum. He is the newest entrant into the Islanders' Hall of Fame, joining Denis Potvin, Billy Smith, Al Arbour, Mike Bossy, Joey Buttafuoco, Amy Fisher and Colin Ferguson ...

 

Damn. Must have missed that. I'll have to go watch the final minutes agian. Thanks for the head's up.

 

I sat behind the Islanders' goal (the side that Pittsburgh shot at in the first and third periods), and had a great view of Thorburn chopping at Witt's stick and challenging him verbally.

That's the problem I have with the "fight in the last five minutes of the game and get suspended" rule. If you're going to run a player or hurt a player, you should be prepared to drop the gloves. Thorburn would have been suspended for a game or two just for standing up for Malkin. How crazy is that?

 

Bruins are playing great hockey, up 2-0 on Toronto through two periods.

 

I've seen a few games this year where there have been some nasty, big hits (albeit legal too). But that brings to mind, it seems a lot of players are going out there, flying into people with elbows or shoulders into heads, etc.

It's either because there's a lack of enforcers out there now for paybacks, or players feel invulnerable because of the new equipment (pads, etc) that they can go 90 mph into someone without fear of injuring themselves.

Now the question, should the NHL start somewhat of a crackdown on these high hits (which may be legal, but definitely dangerous)? I can imagine what an outrage the NHL offices in Toronto would be in if Sidney Crosby got nailed on a shoulder to head hit.

Just throwing it out there for discussion.

 

So JR, are you a fan of fighting? I thought you've said before you don't like goons.