Official NHL Thread

[BoSox21]

the official rule is that if the high stick causes a cut, its a 4 minute penalty. but look, im not gonna be the one Habs fan in a gaggle of Bruins fans so im not gonna argue this anymore

[rician blast]

Anyone see Sean Avery last night? Doing this sort of "face-gaurding" thing to Brodeur where he paid no attention to where the puck was but stood right in front of Brodeur, waving his arms and stick in Brodeur's face?

 

I once thought he was a gritty, but honest player, but apparently not. He's cheap and surely picks his spots physically as well. As for the most recent act...I saw the replay and IMO it was one of the worst displays of sportsmanship I've ever seen. Below is a lonk to an article on it...apparently the trash talking often revolves around personal stuff like Brodeur's divorce...nice.

 

Next Ranger fan that tells me what a character guy Avery is will definitely get a chuckle out of me.

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/story/8032786/Avery-embarrassed-himself,-team-with-bad-sportsmanship-

[redsoxrules]

the official rule is that if the high stick causes a cut' date=' its a 4 minute penalty. but look, im not gonna be the one Habs fan in a gaggle of Bruins fans so im not gonna argue this anymore[/quote']

 

In case you havent noticed I'm a Red Wings ,I just watched the game and pointing out a few things , im not taking any sides . and BTW its not an automatic 4 minutes if theres blood , its up to the ref

[Mr Crunchy]

i noticed the bruins on saturday had 6 straight minutes of penalty killing to end the night in montreal after bouncing back from a 2-0 deficit

some things never change

****ing refs

i did like the way they bounced back last evening and believe that montreal maybe feeling the pressure and the bruins may have regained some self respect and confidence

if they dont beat them outright i hope they beat the s*** out of them physically.

 

i was up till 130 watching san jose and calgary play

calgary down 3-0 after 3.5 minutes clawed back and won 4-3

that my friends was a great game and i feel that the bruins are light years away from the talent those 2 clubs have shown.

im actually looking forward to the av's minny game tonight

and finally i saw detroit play nashville on saturday

the wings have the best team in the league and have shown no let up

if i were a gambler and saw detroit as a 5-7 favorite as they are tonight?

i may put a dollar or 500.00 on them

the west seems way better than the east and i still want to stab pete ""stemmer"" stemkowski in the face as i hate the f***ing rangers almost as much as the yankees

[ARod2212]

Anyone see Sean Avery last night? Doing this sort of "face-gaurding" thing to Brodeur where he paid no attention to where the puck was but stood right in front of Brodeur, waving his arms and stick in Brodeur's face?

 

I once thought he was a gritty, but honest player, but apparently not. He's cheap and surely picks his spots physically as well. As for the most recent act...I saw the replay and IMO it was one of the worst displays of sportsmanship I've ever seen. Below is a lonk to an article on it...apparently the trash talking often revolves around personal stuff like Brodeur's divorce...nice.

 

Next Ranger fan that tells me what a character guy Avery is will definitely get a chuckle out of me.

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/story/8032786/Avery-embarrassed-himself,-team-with-bad-sportsmanship-

Brodeur got divorced because he was cheating on his wife with his sister-in-law. "Uncle Daddy" brought that on himself.

 

I thought the play Avery made was creative, hysterical, and effective. He got Brodeur off his game, and shortly thereafter put the puck in the net on that powerplay. The play he made was not illegal at the time. Now it is.

 

http://rangers.lohudblogs.com/2008/04/14/the-avery-rule/

 

Brodeur had been slashing and punching Avery all game whenever he went to the front of the net. He also pulled an amazing flop when Avery was in the crease to draw a goaltender interference penalty. Watch the replay of it. Brodeur initiated contact with Avery, fell backwards, and drew a powerplay. His flopping and histrionics are more embarrassing than anything Avery did in front of the net. He was setting a screen.

 

I've never heard Avery being accused of being a character guy. He's an agitator. And he's probably the best in the league. He also has 3 goals and an assist in 3 playoff games so far. I'm glad he's on my team.

[ARod2212]

I wish I had known that article was by Strachan before I read it. He's a former Toronto columnist, and is noted for his "controversial" opinions. (IE- He makes stupid remarks to spark debate and get notoriety.) Toronto hates Avery because he's just like Darcy Tucker, but better at it.

 

And Brodeur's quotes completely contradict himself.

"I heard everything throughout the 2003 playoffs. It's funny, the lack of new material. I told him, it has been five years. Find something else.'"

 

But usually, Brodeur says nothing. "If it would be in French, I would be able to come up with a quick answer," he said. "But in English, I've got to think about it, and then by the time I put it into English, he's gone."

 

I thought you've been hearing this since 2003, surely you can think of a comeback beforehand that you can translate. You've also been playing in New Jersey since 1993. You've done thousands of interviews with local reporters. You're still struggling with this French-English translation? You're not that slow, are you Marty? I mean, Henrik Lundqvist has come here from Sweden, and he seems pretty quick with his responses in English.

 

The article goes on to say that the Rangers lost in overtime. It doesn't mention the Devils scored 3 goals on deflections off Rangers, including the overtime winner. It doesn't mention that Brodeur speared Avery in the groin during his "screen" (which is way more illegal and dangerous than anything Avery was doing). It also amazingly fails to mention that Avery scored moments after setting these screens in front of Brodeur.

 

And isn't it the defenseman's job to clear out the crease so Avery can't do what he was doing? There shouldn't be a rule change because the New Jersey defense can't do its job. No way that Scott Stevens would have allowed Avery to get away with what he was doing.

[Cityofchampions33]

Great game Sunday night. I was on the edge of my seat or off it the last few minutes of regulation and OT. Great game despite the low score, great golatending work at both ends, esecially from the 20 year old. The officiating bothered me in the beginning, but they either let them play or it was clean towards the end of the game. If we tie it up, it will be a very interesting series to say the least.

[Mr Crunchy]

another banner evening of hockey

saw the wings blow a 2 goal lead then allow 2 easy goals in the last 4 minutes to get nashville back in the series trailing 2 -1

then the wild-av's game was a f***ing barn burner

i dont recall seeing this minnesota team playing before last night and expected a giant N on their uni's then i remembered the north stars moved to dallas 15 years ago and this minnesota team is an expansion club.

anyways

that was a battle with colorado scoring late to get to ot then getting beaten like a drum in ot with minnesota carrying the play.

every team out west ive seen looks as if they could beat every team in the east

[rician blast]

Brodeur got divorced because he was cheating on his wife with his sister-in-law. "Uncle Daddy" brought that on himself.

 

Interesting rationale.

 

 

I thought the play Avery made was creative, hysterical, and effective. He got Brodeur off his game, and shortly thereafter put the puck in the net on that powerplay. The play he made was not illegal at the time. Now it is.

 

You're the first person I've heard describe his actions as creative and hysterical. All of the hockey analysts were appalled. Even the heads on MSG said it was bush. In fact Drury came over and tried to get him to stop. Ever play hockey? Even in youth leagues and in HS we had a code of sorts. In the NHL, the players generally stick to the code out of self-respect. Avery has non. There is a reason Avery is one of the most hated players in the NHL.

 

 

Brodeur had been slashing and punching Avery all game whenever he went to the front of the net. He also pulled an amazing flop when Avery was in the crease to draw a goaltender interference penalty. Watch the replay of it. Brodeur initiated contact with Avery, fell backwards, and drew a powerplay. His flopping and histrionics are more embarrassing than anything Avery did in front of the net. He was setting a screen.

 

Players who screen goalies get slashed. Watch other games, it happens constantly. It's always been that way. Big difference, though, in Brodeur flopping to draw a penalty (while he STILL has to concentrate on any shots) vs. Avery with his back to the play, waving his stick and glove in the guys face. If D-men were still allowed to hit guys in front of the net, Avery would have been cleared out. And further, refs used to allow players to take liberties with guys camped out in front, and if this was the "old" NHL, Avery would be spittin' chicklets. The instigator penalty is what allows guys to do this cheap stuff.

 

I'm glad he's on my team.

 

enjoy him while you can...rumour has it he's gone after this year and his teammates won't miss him.

[TheKilo]

Tough loss f through theor the Avs last night....an inexcusable SH goal midway through the 3rd killed them.

 

They need to finish these games...although it's interesting every game has been a 3-2 OT game.

[rician blast]

And isn't it the defenseman's job to clear out the crease so Avery can't do what he was doing? There shouldn't be a rule change because the New Jersey defense can't do its job. No way that Scott Stevens would have allowed Avery to get away with what he was doing.

 

Under the old rules, yes, the D should clear the crease. In case ya missed it, D-men can't take the liberties they once took...it's called interference now. In such a close game, especially down 2-0 in the series, a deenseman can't take the risk. Avery knows that.

 

 

As for Brodeur's statements after the game, it was all very tongue-in-cheek, you'd have to have seen the interview. He goes on to say that what Avery was doing actually worked because two pucks that missed the net would have been in had they been on goal, because Marty couldn't see them.

 

Avery is a tough kid, and he possesses some skill. There is a fine line between agititating and going beyond the "code" that most NHL players acknowledge exists. It seems to me he could remain extremely effective without stepping over the line. A buddy of mine played junior hockey in Canada and said that, to a man, any player who yapped HAD to back it up...your own teammates wouldn't have your back if you didn't back up your mouth.

 

Used to be that way in the NHL. Under the new rules, however, guys like Avery and Tucker can get away with the cheap shots, etc. because any retaliation will be severely punished. I remember years ago guys like Ken Linseman would agitate and they'd get a cross-check to the teeth, with no penalty call. Now it'd be a 10 game suspension. This sort of running and hiding is what infuriates the leagues true tough guys and sometimes results in incidents like the Bertuzzi or McSorley incidents.

 

So I guess we'll agree to disagree on Avery...you like him on your team...I'd be ashamed to have him on mine. We all have our own standards, I suppose. For the hell of it...Included in Sean Avery's actions over the years:

 

- Accused of calling George Larocque a monkey...wouldn't fight him, though, and later denied it.

- Made derogatory statements about French Canadien players then when challenged separately by Ian Laperriere and Gauthier he declined.

-Reportedly made derogatory comments about Jason Blake's cancer battle, sparking a pre-game incident..denied it.

- Declined an invitation to fight janssens of NJ...but then turned and challenged Zach Parise. Parise????

- He was dropped from LA's roster at the end of his last season there after refusing to take part in a practice drill.

[ARod2212]

The Blake thing was not true. Blake said it himself.

 

He fought Laperriere. http://hockeyfights.com/fights/29316

The only fight I found against New Jersey was against David Clarkson, not Zack Parise. Clarkson is an enforcer for New Jersey. Avery went after Clarkson after he took a shot at Roszival. He was coming off a wrist injury and was still willing to stick up for his teammate.

http://hockeyfights.com/fights/42680

 

On the play, Drury came over and told Avery to keep his stick down, so he wouldn't accidentally clip a player or the puck with it.

 

Defensemen are still allowed to clear players out of the crease. If the referees called half the interference on the Devils that they should have, the Rangers would spend the entire game on the powerplay. Maybe they crack down on interference during the regular season, but nothing changed in the playoffs.

 

Several players have called what Avery did creative, including Zack Parise. He found something that wasn't illegal and took advantage of it.

 

Overall Avery's job is to get into Brodeur's head, and he has done that since he's been here. He's a needed ingredient for a team that was way too soft before he arrived.

[Mr Crunchy]

its a shame that the attention is placed on the ****ing rangers and this soft jersey team.

i still cant get over the fact how much better the west is than the east

its really 2 different leagues

[Mr Crunchy]

i saw what y'all are discussing finally

why hasnt brodeur made him eat the wide part of the stick yet?

take the 5 minute penalty gleefully

when he regains consciousness in september have a fund raiser for him

imagine if this pulled this crap on say gerry cheevers or billy smith?

[rician blast]

i saw what y'all are discussing finally

why hasnt brodeur made him eat the wide part of the stick yet?

take the 5 minute penalty gleefully

when he regains consciousness in september have a fund raiser for him

imagine if this pulled this crap on say gerry cheevers or billy smith?

 

 

I hear ya crunch, but as you and I know, since we're long-time hockey fans, the game has changed. Refs (and the league) used to allow liberties to be taken vs. "agitators." While they understood there is a place for that type of player, they allowed the players to police it themselves and keep it in line. Years ago a stick infraction of the sort your talking about would carry a penalty, but nothing more, because the Refs and the league took into account who did what to whom. It would be like "Someone high sticked Dale Hunter and knocked him out for 5 games? Oh well, 2 minutes high-sticking is enough."

 

Now? The players are forced to accept this type of despicable behavior. If Brodeur sticks him bad, he likely gets a 5 min major, game misconduct AND a 10 gamer after the league reviews. Even if a D-man like Colin White comes over and pummels him, he gets and instigator and puts his team down for 5 minutes. Plus Avery would likely turtle and come back next shift and do the same thing.

 

IMO, a cross check to the teeth or a butt-end to the throat, with the intention of knocking him out for several games, are the prescribed solutions and the refs, the league, and Avery's teammates should understand that he brought it on himself...and let it go at that. But this is the new NHL, so that solution is unlikely.

[Mr Crunchy]

i hate to do the ""old days"" s*** but i am old enuff to remember when 90% of the league had 2nd jpbs in the offseason and signed autographs for beer money.

the guys drank in local ginmills and sat in card games with the hoods

the 70s bruins team was not just great and successful but also part of our day to day lives and an intrical part of the culture of boston.

no s*** i can name more guys from the last cup in 72 than i can from their last visit to the finals in 90..

no doubt about it

of course free agency and a lousy product has a lot to do with this but anyone over 40 who followed the game then knows what im talking about when i bring up the fact that these guys were approachable,outgoing and every day joes who skated 76 games a year and sold cars in the summer...

orr is single handedly responsible for the tremendous rise in american kids in the nhl today.

i remember jim jensen who captained the 76 team in innsbruck made it in the nhl with minnesota

he tells about his 1st face off staring across at dave schultz bobby clarke and moose dupont

dupont swearing at him in french

schultz calling him a yankee faggot and clarke sticking a butt end into his sternum on his 1st trip into the corners...bobby carpenter was the 1st american to score 50 in a season and i think it was in the mid 80s...st johns danvers

brian lawton was the #1 pick in the 83 draft out of mount st charles in woonsocket

he averaged 4 pts a nite in high school,quebec drafted him 1 and i dont think he ever cracked 15 goals in a season...major major bust

anyways

americans are 35-40 years into this sport for all intents and purposes

yet the salaries,free agency and the general attitudes have made what was, impossible to see again...my man was pie mckenzie cause that was my g/moms maiden name and i would see him over at guertins on the charles on western ave and river st cambridge with my dad

always smiled and talked to me at 6-8 yrs old

always had a quarter for the pinball machine and was perhaps the most dapper dressing human being i have ever seen drink in central square....

now?

martin lapointe made 5 m 1 year in boston?

orrs last year in boston may have been over 100k but i dont know for sure

espo scored a league record 76 goals and got paid 48k plus bonuses for playoff success

unreal

[redsoxrules]

Babcock should be fired , if he knew what he was doing this series would be at least 3-1 if not over , Osgood should be net NOT hasek, period . Osgood better be starting game 5 . If we lose this series babcock needs to go

[Mr Crunchy]

ever since i started betting detroit they have played like s***

hasek has allowed more cheap goals this week than in his entire career it seems

[rician blast]

If the Rangers and Habs eventually meet up, who to root for? I couldn't hate either team more. I guess I'd have to hope for a bloody 7 game series where they beat each other up so bad that the winner will be ill-equipped to advance any further.

 

That said, I'm pulling for the Pens in the east.

[Mr Crunchy]

I do like Syd Crosby and the fact that he got it done in the 1st round easily

What happened to Ottawa?

1 year theyre on the verge of winning it all

the next year they eat it,just like Buffalo

[rician blast]

I do like Syd Crosby and the fact that he got it done in the 1st round easily

What happened to Ottawa?

1 year theyre on the verge of winning it all

the next year they eat it,just like Buffalo

 

 

Didn't we have a Buffalo Sabres fan in this forum around this time last year, spouting about Lindy as Coach of the Year, and how his team would win the Cup?

[redsoxrules]

Didn't we have a Buffalo Sabres fan in this forum around this time last year' date=' spouting about Lindy as Coach of the Year, and how his team would win the Cup?[/quote']

 

yeah his team has been sucking all year so he hasent showed up on here

[rician blast]

yeah his team has been sucking all year so he hasent showed up on here

 

What a difference a year makes.

[ARod2212]

I don't get what's so difficult about the rulebook. Cross checking is a penalty. High sticking is a penalty. If you can't keep your composure around a guy like Avery, you should be penalized for it.

 

What Avery does is annoying, but not illegal. He's certainly not the first agitator in the league. If you're good enough, it shouldn't make a difference what a little s*** like Avery says on the ice. Beat him on the scoreboard. That's all that matters. That's what you're paid to do.

 

People bitch and bitch and bitch about Sean Avery. How about ignoring him and beating his team? The more you whine about him, the more he's done his job.

[schillingouttheks]

Well, the B's win tonight was pretty sweet ... I mean, with the series coming back to Boston now for game 6, we have a series again.

[Cityofchampions33]

If the Rangers and Habs eventually meet up

 

Key word is if. Not sure if you'e watched but my B's have outplayed the Habs 4 straight games now and are very much in this series. I will be attending Saturday's game, and hope we can build of our glorious 5-1 victory we laid on Montreal's finest tonight.

[Mr Crunchy]

the sabres guy had their logo that took up 1/2 a page of bandwith

no

havent seen that cool logo around but

i did see a guy that looked like Don Luce asking for change outside dunkin donuts this morning

 

philly washington was an awesome game

philly appears to be just a little bit bigger and more aggressive

the bruins again showed some stones,at least the C' s will know they were in a series.

av's bounced back nice too

[rician blast]

Key word is if. Not sure if you'e watched but my B's have outplayed the Habs 4 straight games now and are very much in this series. I will be attending Saturday's game' date=' and hope we can build of our glorious 5-1 victory we laid on Montreal's finest tonight.[/quote']

 

Yes I've watched your Bruins (and mine, too) and know how effective they've been. The only thing different between last night's effort and the others games (except Game 1) was that Thomas CLEARLY outplayed Price. Had Price played the way he did last night in previous games, the Series would at the very least be 3-2 B's...and might actually be over, with the B's winning. If Price played like he did in most of the series, it's potentially another OT game.

 

This B's team is currently full of grit and determination....and is playing the Julien style to a 'T'. Imagine what they could do with more talent?

[Mr Crunchy]

why was kessell on the bench for 3 games?

i dont question this coach but these guys arent that good and i would think they could use an offensive guy like kessell out there

[schillingouttheks]

why was kessell on the bench for 3 games?

i dont question this coach but these guys arent that good and i would think they could use an offensive guy like kessell out there

 

Because Kessell laid an egg in the first game, and Julien wanted to make a statement.

 

It's aggravating because, like rician blast said, this series could easily be at least 3-2 B's, if not over already with the Bruins advancing. If they win game 6, I don't think Montreal wins this series.