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Dear Habs fans, you're kidding me, right? |
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There's no justification, nor is there any rationalization of Montreal Canadiens rookie Jiri Sekac's boarding of Sabres defenseman Nikita Zadorov. That it wasn't even reviewed is somewhat of a travesty, that it's being defended and deemed Zadorov's fault, especially by the likes of former ref Kerry Fraser, is inexcusable.
Say what you will about Zadorov "turning at the last moment," the kid was in a tight situation trying to play the puck to the best area he could. He went to the backhand and got leveled. Maybe after he "supposedly" saw what was coming, he should have just turned to Sekac and planted a crosscheck to his teeth. In defense, of course.
Yeah, it was his fault. Right, Kerry. After consulting the rule book that was the conclusion?
Save your blabber. If the Sabres were the Penguins or Blackhawks or any elite team, Sekac would have gotten ejected and would have had a hearing with whatever player safety pawn is now pulling the levers in the land of OZ.
I have one question, Habs-fans, if you can pry those bleu blanc et rouge glasses from your schnozzola for a brief moment, would you feel the same way if a Sabres' player did the exact same thing to a Canadiens player?
It's doubtful.
What it should come down to in this case, as with any, is intent to injure. Even though intent to injure is almost impossible to prove, Jiri Sekac was intent upon doing as much damage as he could to a player in a vulnerable position which, for all intents and purposes, should be construed as intent to injure. It matters not whether or not Zadorov was "at fault" for (supposedly) putting himself in a vulnerable position (and you can't prove that he foresaw what was coming as he was about to play the puck.) It was a brutal hit. So brutal that the immediate reaction from the booth was "That might be a game ejection. That was a vicious hit."
And so it was.
You see, it wasn't about Zadorov "turning," it was how Sekac zoned in on Zadorov's back, "He's looking at numbers the whole way" and the speed with which he went in. That and how Sekac snapped his hips for maximum impact on contact, kind of like a boxer when he snaps those hips while throwing a roundhouse to get the most power out of his punch.
Even though Sekac "does not let up one bit," the impact would have been lessened had he not cocked and released a George Forman-like roundhouse elbow smack dab between the five and one.
Don't worry, though, Sabres fans are accustomed to this kind of stuff. The city of Buffalo, the Sabres and their fans are looked (down) upon as the bastard-child of the red-headed stepchild and no matter what the child did, it's his fault.
We get it.
Just remember, very dog has his day.
Woof.
(Thanx to SomeHockeyVideos for the vid and to Garth for taking on the pitchfork-wielding masses.)
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