Running 2017-18 NHL thread

I'll be interested in what Elliotte writes since he's the expert's expert. I don't believe as JC does that "everyone" outside of Orange County "established" that it was a head shot. "Everyone established" that it was a late hit and was penalized.
I had heard that George Parros does not participate in decisions dealing with the Ducks, but this still has to be endorsed by him and the player safety team. There is the thought that Parros overcompensated to eliminate the any perceived bias for the Ducks. I wouldn't profess that, but it is possible.
As far as the streak, I agree that it should not be considered. Track record, yes, but not the streak. If Cogliano did it, he deserved the punishment.

 

Eh, it's been pretty well established that it was a headshot in all non-SoCal circles I've seen. And my understanding is that people at DoPS who have ties to any team have to completely recuse themselves from that play - Parros would not have been in a position to overcompensate with the decision.

Cogliano is 30 years old and an 800+ game veteran who knows better than that hit, and allowing those his to be let go because he's a "good guy" and it kills some sort of notable streak is what gets this league in trouble when it comes to things like headshots and, on the other end of the spectrum, embellishment. You have to apply the same standards across the board, even when it sucks to end something like a goal scoring streak or an epic GP run.

Now, the league is notoriously bad about applying the same standards to its favorite superstars. I would absolutely buy that if Crosby or McDavid threw this hit everyone would look the other way. That's the real problem - approaching it fairly like this situation is a step in the right direction.

 

All Lines Matter

Suspend them all, when necessary, regardless of the last name on the jersey.

 

I brought up the Cogliano issue just to get focused comments on that and I have.
I intentionally did not try to compare it to other issues because I didn't want to clutter up the discussion.

However, since Smash brought it up, the non-comparable punishment is unbelievable. In the same game that Cogliano was tagged, Doughty landed an obvious elbow to Rakell's head, followed up by Pearson doing the same to Henrique. Doughty got 2 minutes, Pearson nothing. No hearing from player safety. Doughty's hit was far more blatant than Cogliano's, although not late. And now Giordano, who has a history since his knee-to-knee on Fowler late last season, gets no hearing or further punishment. Of course, last year, Crosby-Methot, etc.

 

Caps had a bit longer of a break last year, so I'm hopeful rust won't be as big as a factor. They played at home on Saturday, Feb. 11 last year and came back for an afternoon roadie on Feb. 18. This year, it was a roadie on Jan. 12 and back at it Jan. 18. Weirdly enough, they've already had two four-day breaks this year and will have another three-day break after playing three in four days post-bye week.

 

I appreciated Elliotte's 31 take on the Cogliano issue. Time to move on.

 

Kid Rock is chosen to perform at All-Star weekend, and NHL Twitter is not impressed:

NHL picks Kid Rock to perform at the 2018 All-Star Game

 

This bloody league is run by twits.

 

I assume he came cheap. Cheaper than an act anyone would want to see, anyhow.

 

Dustin Brown, repeat offender, crosschecks Justin Schultz into the boards. Schultz is already on his knees. The hit is from behind. He is driven face-first into the boards. It is in the third period. Brown gets a 5 and game misconduct for intent to injure.
Department of Player Safety issues a fine and no suspension.
Cogliano fans remain livid.
Ducks and Kings meet again tonight.
Again, the sport is so good that it overshadows the fumbling organizational hierarchy.
Continual complaints over inequitable punishment remain.

 

Yep. It’s a joke. But Cogliano still deserved his.

Browns a piece of shit.

 

And then there's Perry's "accidental" head shot on Letang.

https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=...=FVBEgiKLTBY&usg=AOvVaw1rOjWtl8Rr28jj8k7Xu3Qf