I'll play devil's advocate.

I too was disgusted with Dell's "pick move".....Bath never saw it coming. At first, I too wanted to see some kind of epic crap kicking.

but play all that out.....at the beginning of the second you could see the ref talking to both benches. we'd be facing multiple suspensions today, possible injuries and for what? An empty building? Some perceived need to show emotion or stand up for a team mate. Lets get Don Cherry's opinion while we're at it. The game has changed. The NFL has changed. We don't hit goalies, quarterbacks anymore. They shouldn't get away with the double standard like Dell did. He SHOULD get 2 games for that. Maybe he won't but....nobody puts on "the foil" anymore
- Octavarium

I like devils advocacy it makes you think. But perhaps thats an outdated non pc term for this new age world.

Cherry was not 100% wrong or correct..Not sure hockeyplayers ever endorced hitting goalies as that is a cheappoop and would cause a fight.
Fighting, people still love ( despite the non sayers) especially when a cheappoop takes out 1 of your star players. . Fighting the players still love when its called for at the appropiate time.
Fighting has its place . A lot less then days gone by , and thats good .

Looks like Dell has a meeting with the Player Safety department.

The following grounds are being considered for supplemental discipline: interference. However, the Department of Player Safety retains the right to make adjustments to the infraction upon review.

I personally believe enough of this chicken crap hands off the Goaler routine. They are the most protected person on the ice in terms of padding, and if they wanna leave the crease and be the big man with a stretch-out gamebreaker pass, or corral the puck on a PP, or run chicken crap chicken wing interference exercises like Dell did last night, you are open game. Free to hit and be hit. Outside the crease, you are at your own risk. You wanna be Brodeur, Turco, Hasek, etc. go nuts...but the second you touch the puck you are getting the hounds set on you.

If anything, it will increase the amount of hilarious full force collisions and chicanery like the Sabres-Sens rivalries of the early/mid 2007s. It'll be great. One of my favorite memories as a fan was a game of Ott vs Chi where we were losing bad (5-1) and Chicago had been pulling some really cheap runs all game and then Martin Havlat just got fed up and rammed the goalie behind the net with two minutes left. Got a game misconduct but it was one of the funniest moments I ever saw live and have come to believe they should be fair game ever since. The Code is archaic on this front, stupid even. Time for change...

The NHL seriously needs to learn from the NFL on how to balance the reality of playing a very physical sport, with necessary safety precautions. For instance, you only protect vulnerable players when they're playing in the context of their specialized position (e.g. a QB while trying to throw in the pocket, a receiver while in a vulnerable position trying to make a catch, or a kicker while trying to kick). But once a QB, receiver, or kicker starts running downfield to make a block or a tackle, they're 100% fair game to be hit, and hit hard. Goaltenders need to be able to move freely in the crease to protect the net, and should be protected there. But once they start going out to play the puck, disrupt offensive plays like a dump/chase, or throw a shoulder into someone... watch the f$%# out.

As for the actual game, it's pretty hard to take much away from a 5-0 rout of a crappy team, where a journeyman forward they signed from a PTO in training camp scores for the first time in 30G, and gets a hat trick. It's technically a SO for Murray, but the game felt like it was over after 20min. Nice to see Formenton/Stutzle playing well again, and providing quality secondary scoring. Thomson once again looks like he's NHL-ready. Gaudette has been a pleasant surprise with 6pts/8GP while playing with a good mix of speed/puck skill, but it could just be a honeymoon phase. If the injury to Gambrell gets him a bit more of an extended look, I can't say that's a bad thing.

Either way, it's hard not to be fairly pleased with a 9-5-2 record in their last 16... including wins against CAR, TB, FLA, COL, EDM, and CGY, and very hard-fought losses to TB, WSH, and PIT. Amazing what a difference it makes when you actually put a quality 2nd line together, and let them play offence.

As for the actual game, it's pretty hard to take much away from a 5-0 rout of a crappy team, where a journeyman forward they signed from a PTO in training camp scores for the first time in 30G, and gets a hat trick. It's technically a SO for Murray, but the game felt like it was over after 20min. Nice to see Formenton/Stutzle playing well again, and providing quality secondary scoring. Thomson once again looks like he's NHL-ready. Gaudette has been a pleasant surprise with 6pts/8GP while playing with a good mix of speed/puck skill, but it could just be a honeymoon phase. If the injury to Gambrell gets him a bit more of an extended look, I can't say that's a bad thing.

Either way, it's hard not to be fairly pleased with a 9-5-2 record in their last 16... including wins against CAR, TB, FLA, COL, EDM, and CGY, and very hard-fought losses to TB, WSH, and PIT. Amazing what a difference it makes when you actually put a quality 2nd line together, and let them play offence.
- khawk[/quote
As an outsider and fan of the Canadian teams, I wonder what Smith will do with Thomson once Zaitsev returns. You would hope he plays the guy that earned it over Brown but it seems Smith will continue to do weird lineup decisions and send Thomson back down but play a fringe nhl defensemen over the prospect that’s ready.

Dell have received 3 games suspension