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A Win, An Unfortunate Hit And Now The Rangers |
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On Wednesday night the Hawks beat the Sabres 4-1 for another United Center win. Chicago played a solid game and an important factor in the contest was the difference between the pipes.
The Sabres, playing the first of two games on consecutive nights chose to start Patrick Lalime. Huet was rock solid, while Lalime let in a couple of shots he would like to have another chance at.
The Hawks outplayed Buffalo for most of the game and once again the deeper team won. The Sabres did not really deserve a victory as they were 0-7 on the Power Play and had only three shots on goal while having the man advantage.
Unfortunately the lead story of the game was the high hit from Drew Stafford on Duncan Keith.
In the 2nd period after Keith released a shot, Stafford skating from behind trying to catch up to the play appeared to hit the Hawk defenseman with a forearm/elbow to the side of the head.
Stafford's decison resulted in an unfortunate hit.
Apparently every official on the ice missed the fact that Stafford’s elbow came up and made contact with Keith’s chin.
Hockey is a rough sport played at high speed but it is not mayhem on ice.
There are opportunities every game for players to seriously hurt each other. It doesn’t happen because there are rules in place. Serious injury also does not happen on a regular basis because players temper their emotions and restrain themselves.
The Stafford hit on Keith illustrated two concerns.
First the hit to Keith was opportunistic and didn’t need to be high and hard.
Keith was not staring into space or admiring a pass, he could not have protected himself much better. Duncan had just shot the puck and was looking at the net when struck. He was also surrounded on the play and was right in front of a Sabres defenseman after he fired the shot.
Finishing a check means to eliminate the opponent from the play. It does not mean to eliminate the opposing player from the game.
There is a purpose in hitting hard, which is a part of the sport. There is nothing good which can result from hitting someone in the head.
It doesn’t matter if Stafford is a “good” guy or if he didn’t mean to cause Keith to be knocked out on his feet. He came up with his elbow in a fashion that could have caused serious injury.
After watching the play numerous times I come to the same conclusion …it was an opportunistic hit, Stafford could have cut Keith off without making that kind of contact.
It was a “bad” hit that could have caused serious injury.
Whether Stafford’s actions result in Keith being out of the lineup for a month or not all at all, he should have been penalized. His actions should have been punishable with a suspension also.
High hits have to stop.
The players are bigger, stronger and have better equipment than ever before. The NHL should make stopping head shots a priority. They should judge the incidents by the actions on the ice alone not by who is committing the offense.
Ben Eager was correct to say that if he did the same thing he would have been suspended. Reputation may matter on the length of suspension but should have nothing to do with whether a player receives one or not.
The subsequent retaliation from Eager resulted in another curious consequence for the Hawks.
Eager was given 3 minor penalties but none for fighting. Although Stafford threw punches he did not receive any time in the sin bin at all. No doubt Eager was the aggressor and did deserve more time off the ice but 6 minutes compared to 0 for Stafford was ridiculous.
Maybe it was a case of one mistake leading to another.
Eager was not given a fighting and instigator penalties possibly because the refs realized they were wrong to begin with. It was all bad as the 6 minute discrepancy was too much.
The NHL hierarchy should start paying closer attention and impose higher standards for on ice officials. Beside the fact someone is going to get seriously hurt from high hits there is also a lot at stake financially for teams.
Eager receiving 6 minutes in penalties and could have cost the Hawks the game.
The League should realize that points lost because of faulty judgment could mean millions of dollars in squandered Playoff revenue. Now more than ever before lost profitability for Franchises will matter.
Just wait for some of the trades that will soon happen out of desperation because Franchises are having trouble meeting their financial responsibilities. Playoff revenue is the only chance for some teams to show a profit and for many to limit losses.
When the NHL decides on suspensions it appears there is a hesitancy to go against the on ice official’s original call. It also is very difficult to follow the guidelines used to determine what actions are worthy of a suspension.
I can not let this one go… but if Todd Fedoruk didn’t deserve a suspension after giving a forearm shiver to Cristobal Huet awhile back… well nothing can surprise me now.
That was in some ways much worse than the Stafford hit.
Fedoruk was out on the ice late in the game as the score was 6-0 in favor of the Hawks. He then hit a goal keeper on the chin who had just gotten rid of the puck behind the net. Fedoruk did at least receive a 5 minute charging penalty but still was not suspended.
The NHL has to make preventing hits to the head a priority and also not be reluctant to suspend players even though the original call on the ice may have been blown.
The Hawks get ready to face have another tough opponent as the Rangers are in town tonight.
The Hawks will be looking to avenge a 4-2 loss to the Blue Shirts in the first game of the season. Khabibulin was not in goal for that game but will be tonight. The Blackhawks will be facing one of the best goalies in the NHL as Henrik Lundqvist will be between the pipes for NY.
The Hawks have to come out with a purpose but also have be able to keep their emotions in check. This game will be played in front of one of the largest crowds of the season.
Al’s Shots
The Hawks could be without their most valuable player, Duncan Keith. I have no word at this time as to how long he might be out of action. It may be wishful, but I hope Keith can at least play on the upcoming road trip.
Matt Walker has been playing really well and young Aaron Johnson could be back on the ice tonight.
Cam Barker played with a more physical purpose against the Sabres and that type of effort will be needed again.
Khabibulin has been great versus NY in the past. Khabby is 7-4 against Rangers with a 2.01 GAA including two shutouts.
The Rangers have their dads with them on their 5 game trip. Ny has captured 5 of a possible 6 points to start the road swing.
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