Hits and Errors

I’ve been a hockey fan forever. There are lots of things that are part of the game, no matter what you do. There are some things that astound me about the current administration’s attempt’s to fix the game. Fighting has always been part of the game, so has hitting. There are good hits like this:

And flat out assaults like these from Sunday

When the NHL returned from the lockout in 2004, there was a pledge to clean the game, emphasize the beauty of it. etc. Anybody who watched either of the USA/Canada games in the recent Olympics can now give testimony to what an exciting fun game it can be. I remember a 2-2 tie between Buffalo and Montreal a bunch of years ago being one of the most beautiful games ever.

But the NHL started with a nice show of cutting down of the clutching and grabbing, along with the buzzkill of playing the trap. But all are back in one form or another. While no-touch icing would be a good thing to implement, so would consistent officiating. A lot of the extreme elements like the Todd Bertuzzi incident in Vancouver a few seasons ago might be minimalized if the refs called the game with consistency throughout the game. “Let em play” does not necessarily have to mean “let em kill each other.

Colin, earn your check dude.

Ovechkin is an exciting player with a complete game, but he’s also teetered on the edge of this stuff before. I understand Gary Bettman is applying the same management that worked in the early 90’s in the NBA. I’m betting Downie gets punished severely for going after a star in Crosby, but Ovie might get a little leeway because he is a star. Ain’t right

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