I’ve been a hockey fan for over 70 years . That type of hit no longer has a place in hockey . It was a careless , predatory , and BLINDSIDING hit to a vulnerable player !
"Predatory" is exactly right. It's one thing to finish your check, it's another to intend to injury somebody. Anybody doubt MD was *trying* to knock Pavs out of the game?
Couple years ago, in the depths of the pandemic, Ballys had time to fill, and re-ran the whole '99 playoff series (along with Mav's and Rangers' glory days).
On one hand, it was great to relive that run (Jamie Langen... was severely underappreciated at the time!). On the other it was a jolting reminder of how much the game has changed over the past 25 years - I was constantly yelling at the TV "that's interference", "hey, that's slashing", "hooking, you can't do that!".
The big take away, tho, was just how much BETTER the game is now. Speed, skating, free-flowing action...
Please, Bettman, Parros, et al - for the love of God don't let the game slip back to the days of goonery and hooliganism, where predatory hits like Dumba and Trouba's go, not just un(der) penalized, but celebrated. wtf?!? That's a step BACKWARD, you morons.
Spot on writeup. I saw way too many people play the "playoff hockey" card, and while I agree intensity gets ramped up during the tourney, at no point should the game look like a scene from Slapshot. Man, the way Pavs was wobbling off the ice was sickening.
I’ve been a hockey fan for over 70 years . That type of hit no longer has a place in hockey . It was a careless , predatory , and BLINDSIDING hit to a vulnerable player !
"Predatory" is exactly right. It's one thing to finish your check, it's another to intend to injury somebody. Anybody doubt MD was *trying* to knock Pavs out of the game?
Couple years ago, in the depths of the pandemic, Ballys had time to fill, and re-ran the whole '99 playoff series (along with Mav's and Rangers' glory days).
On one hand, it was great to relive that run (Jamie Langen... was severely underappreciated at the time!). On the other it was a jolting reminder of how much the game has changed over the past 25 years - I was constantly yelling at the TV "that's interference", "hey, that's slashing", "hooking, you can't do that!".
The big take away, tho, was just how much BETTER the game is now. Speed, skating, free-flowing action...
Please, Bettman, Parros, et al - for the love of God don't let the game slip back to the days of goonery and hooliganism, where predatory hits like Dumba and Trouba's go, not just un(der) penalized, but celebrated. wtf?!? That's a step BACKWARD, you morons.
(Thanks, David. Great article, needed to vent.)
Spot on writeup. I saw way too many people play the "playoff hockey" card, and while I agree intensity gets ramped up during the tourney, at no point should the game look like a scene from Slapshot. Man, the way Pavs was wobbling off the ice was sickening.
I like how you see it.