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Twelve hours later, and even I'm sore from watching the Senators and Rangers battle on Saturday night. Talk about an all-time level of physicality between the two sides.
Below, some quick thoughts regarding the fallout from last night's brawl of a hockey game.
--- First, let's touch on Senators D Matt Carkner. Some Senators fans are praising him for returning fire on Brian Boyle after Boyle tried to install his gloves permanently onto Erik Karlsson's face in game one. Conversely, some Rangers fans find Carkner's actions completely vile, pounding the defenseless Brian Boyle while he lay covered up on the ice.
My take? I'm somewhere in the middle. My problem with Brian Boyle is that he knew this was coming, and there's somewhat of an unwritten rule about answering the bell after controversial incidents like his flurry of punches on the twenty-one year old Erik Karlsson.
However, it doesn't excuse Matt Carkner's actions as a professional hockey player. There seems to be a significant debate amongst Senators fans as to whether or not there should be support for how Carkner handled himself against Boyle. Look - it's pretty clear that a loud and clear statement was made. The team wasn't going to be pushed around, and Rangers skaters weren't going to be allowed to run every talented Senators player around the ice.
Considering the outcome of the game - a 3-2 victory in OT the way of the Ottawa Senators - it's hard to knock Paul MacLean, et al.'s strategy. The Rangers were far less intimidating in G2 as they were in G1.
Personally, though, I felt pretty damn uneasy watching Carkner just unload on Boyle as he lie on the ice. That's not hockey.
Carkner should be handed a fairly lengthy suspension for his wanton disregard for player safety. Yes, he did his job - whether instructed or implied by the coaching staff prior to Game Two. Yes, he did it effectively. No, there's not a place for it in the National Hockey League.
He met with the Dean of Discipline - Brendan Shanahan - on Sunday afternoon. No word yet on the length, but a suspension is almost guaranteed.
---With Matt Carkner, I could at least understand both sides of the debate. Concerning Brandon Dubinsky's ejection via the third-man-in rule, I cringed for minutes on end. Talk about the dumbest rule - or, dumbest assessment of the rule by the NHL officiating team - of all-time.
46.16 Third Man In - A game misconduct penalty, at the discretion of the Referee, shall be imposed on any player who is the first to intervene (third man in) in an altercation already in progress except when a match penalty is being imposed in the original altercation. This penalty is in addition to any other penalties incurred in the same incident.
Does it make sense? Absolutely. Every fight in the National Hockey League should be one-on-one. There's no room in the game for street fighting and the jumping of players with intent to injure.
But, in Dubinsky's case, he was only coming in to protect the completely defenseless Brian Boyle. What the hell was the guy supposed to do? The referees were standing there like spectators watching Carkner tee off.
The rule is written to allow exceptions for instances of match penalties. A match penalty is assessed when there's intent to injure. My guess is that the officiating team didn't love the way Brian Boyle responded in an obvious fight instance. Carkner wasn't trying to Chris Simon the guy.
Since the officiating team didn't assess a match penalty, they had no choice but to toss Brandon Dubinsky under 46.16.
Regardless, I'd expect every single player in the National Hockey League to act in the same manner as Brandon Dubinsky if they were put in that position. This wasn't the case of two guys trading barbs and Dubinsky rushing in for a blind kill shot. He was simply protecting a teammate.
His ejection sat pretty uncomfortably with me.
---Carl Hagelin's sixty-four game sample size with the New York Rangers in his rookie year has not shown any indication that he's a dirty player. Nor do I believe he'd ever target a player like Daniel Alfredsson in a malicious manner - the two are both Swedes, and Hagelin is on record as idolizing one of the most famous Swedish hockey players of his generation.
So, the argument of intent and/or malice is cloudy at best, and most likely completely unrealistic.
As a hockey play, though, it's about as egregious and dangerous as it gets. Hagelin came in high and hard, and didn't show any signs of slowing up or shifting his body to avoid Daniel Alfredsson's head.
And, whether you like it or not, injuries are part of the supplemental discipline process. The Ottawa Senators are remaining pretty hush about Alfredsson's status, but all signs right now point to another concussion - his second of the year, and second suffered against the New York Rangers.
More to that point: Again, whether you like it or not, there appears to be harsher discipline levied against those who target and/or injure marquee players.
Considering Carl Hagelin's already had his hearing with NHL Player Safety, I'm guessing he's going to be gone for a couple of games, and rightfully so.
Much like Carkner's run of Boyle, there isn't a place in the NHL for head runs.
--- Which, of course, brings us to the optics of the National Hockey League.
How bad does it look for the league to suspend both Matt Carkner and Carl Hagelin - again, both very deserving - for their hits, while Shea Weber continues to lace 'em up for the Nashville Predators?
Carkner's attack was premeditated. Hagelin's hit was violent and targeted the head. Both are worthy of supplementary discipline.
So, I apologize if I'm confused as to why both of these guys are headed to the press box while Shea Weber continues to play meaningful hockey games. Weber not only had intent to injure(Carkner), but his hit (
read: taking Henrik Zetterberg's head and trying to melt it into the glass WWE style) was as much of a targeted head shot as I've ever seen.
Once again, the NHL has failed to properly assess supplemental discipline, and this is precisely why fan bases grow more and more skeptical after each passing suspension.
There wouldn't be conspiracy theories if the league was capable of implementing player safety protocol and subsequent supplemental discipline across the board with extreme consistency.
Period.
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Thanks for reading!
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