That's what teammates do. But you aren't denying Engelland started punching him in the back of the head, right?
- wolfhounds

Does it really matter now? No. Move on with your life.

That's what teammates do. But you aren't denying Engelland started punching him in the back of the head, right?
- wolfhounds

Just because Engelland started punching him in the back of the head does not mean he has to fight. Turtle if you dont want your stitches opened up. I never denied Engelland hits first.

Im curious what "nonsense" I spewed? When he was initially staying out of the fight he could have skated to the bench, he didnt. Believe it or not he had an option not to fight by staying out of it.
- Rawdog9755

You really are an idiot with absolutely no knowledge of how line brawls work in hockey and what you're supposed to do. If he just skates to the bench, that leaves his teammates outnumbered on the ice and the potential for a 2-on-1...which is never supposed to happen in hockey but given the douchebaggery levels of the Penguins, is absolutely an option that can't be ignored. Believe it or not, Simmonds did exactly what he was supposed to do in trying to tie up an opposing player. Your logic of "well if someone skates towards a scrum instead of away from it, it's perfectly acceptable to start hitting him in the head" is so moronic that I'm not sure if it's funny or sad. The next time 87 or 71 skates "toward" a scrum (and they know they're "not having tea at center ice") and then someone drops the gloves and starts punching them, let's see what you say then. okey dokey?

You really are an idiot with absolutely no knowledge of how line brawls work in hockey and what you're supposed to do. If he just skates to the bench, that leaves his teammates outnumbered on the ice and the potential for a 2-on-1...which is never supposed to happen in hockey but given the douchebaggery levels of the Penguins, is absolutely an option that can't be ignored. Believe it or not, Simmonds did exactly what he was supposed to do in trying to tie up an opposing player. Your logic of "well if someone skates towards a scrum instead of away from it, it's perfectly acceptable to start hitting him in the head" is so moronic that I'm not sure if it's funny or sad. The next time 87 or 71 skates "toward" a scrum (and they know they're "not having tea at center ice") and then someone drops the gloves and starts punching them, let's see what you say then. okey dokey?
- shonoff95

How it actually works does not make me wrong. HE HAD THE OPTION.
Have at it. If 71 or 87 skate into a scrum they better be ready to get hit. Its hockey, not the ballet. Do you feel better after venting?

How it actually works does not make me wrong. HE HAD THE OPTION.
Have at it. If 71 or 87 skate into a scrum they better be ready to get hit. Its hockey, not the ballet. Do you feel better after venting?
- Rawdog9755

Do you feel better after being proven wrong by video replay and subsequently being made to look like a complete tool who lacks knowledge & understanding? I sure hope so.

I said they had the same number of fighting majors on the season.
- rival22

Really? I think Briere has 1 fight this year... He's not a fighter by any stretch, though he does take a lot of bad penalties.

Schenn might have 3 fights or so?

I have no idea about Asham, Adams or Vitale.

Simmonds has more...not sure on the number. But Briere and Schenn are not fighters, not in any sense of the word. Schenn will drop the gloves - and get punched in the face - if he feels it necessary.

Simmonds can swing, no doubt, but not a day after eating a puck.

Regardless, your argument that these lines are somehow similar is faulty.

Do you feel better after being proven wrong by video replay and subsequently being made to look like a complete tool who lacks knowledge & understanding? I sure hope so.
- shonoff95

Feel better??

Do you feel better after being proven wrong by video replay and subsequently being made to look like a complete tool who lacks knowledge & understanding? I sure hope so.
- shonoff95

The only way I am wrong is if his legs were broken and he physically couldnt skate to the bench under his own power. That was not the case. As for being a tool, who is the one who resorts to name calling "youre an idiot" instead of dealing with what I actually said. HE DIDNT HAVE TO FIGHT. Show me how he was utterly compelled to fight and literally had no other option. He couldnt turtle, he couldnt skate away, etc.

Really? I think Briere has 1 fight this year... He's not a fighter by any stretch, though he does take a lot of bad penalties.

Schenn might have 3 fights or so?

I have no idea about Asham, Adams or Vitale.

Simmonds has more...not sure on the number. But Briere and Schenn are not fighters, not in any sense of the word. Schenn will drop the gloves - and get punched in the face - if he feels it necessary.

Simmonds can swing, no doubt, but not a day after eating a puck.

Regardless, your argument that these lines are somehow similar is faulty.
- wolfhounds

Agreed 100%. I believe Simmonds had about 7-8 fights this year. So that gives the line about 10 fights for the season. I find it hard to believe Adams & Asham didn't have more than 10 fights between them. Besides, as you pointed out, the lines are not similar in any way, shape, or form...the Briere line is a scoring line, the vitale line is a checking/grinder line.

Just because Engelland started punching him in the back of the head does not mean he has to fight. Turtle if you dont want your stitches opened up. I never denied Engelland hits first.
- Rawdog9755

You are blaming Simmonds for what Engelland did. Needless to say, your defense is rapidly going downhill.

The only way I am wrong is if his legs were broken and he physically couldnt skate to the bench under his own power. That was not the case. As for being a tool, who is the one who resorts to name calling "youre an idiot" instead of dealing with what I actually said. HE DIDNT HAVE TO FIGHT. Show me how he was utterly compelled to fight and literally had no other option. He couldnt turtle, he couldnt skate away, etc.
- Rawdog9755

I tried to deal with "what you said" the first 5 times when you were wrong. A person can only take so much. Repeating yourself by making an incorrect statement over and over doesn't make it right...it just makes it harder to respond to in a civilized manner. Again, you obviously have no knowledge of the "code" of hockey players...Simmonds COULD NOT simply skate away and go to the bench while leaving his teammates outnumbered on the ice. The fact that you don't understand that, whether from sheer stupidity or just plain ignorance, is undeniable and so I won't resort to name-calling this time...I'll just leave it at that and let you continue on in your ignorant rants.

How about YOU watch the video? Simmonds initially just tries to tie up a body and ends up taking TWO penguins (engelland & niskanen). His gloves are still on and he's just tying up an opposing player so his teammates don't get out-numbered. Then niskanen peels off to go after someone else and engelland starts punching simmonds in the back of the head. Good God, if you can't even see the truth when the VIDEO REPLAY is staring you in the face, there is absolutely no hope for you and no further discussion is needed!
- shonoff95

he is clearly going for niskanen first. Engo sees that and intercepts and fills him in for grabbing a skill guy. Nobody was even fighting before that. Briere left the ice, schenn must have thought asham was a japanese businessman because he started bowing to him and waiting for the refs to save him. Simmonds and engo were also just pushing and pulling eachother for a while. Simmonds throws the first real wind up punch and about 1 second later gets pounded. Instead of learning the lesson the hard way he could have just asked shellley about engo.

I tried to deal with "what you said" the first 5 times when you were wrong. A person can only take so much. Repeating yourself by making an incorrect statement over and over doesn't make it right...it just makes it harder to respond to in a civilized manner. Again, you obviously have no knowledge of the "code" of hockey players...Simmonds COULD NOT simply skate away and go to the bench while leaving his teammates outnumbered on the ice. The fact that you don't understand that, whether from sheer stupidity or just plain ignorance, is undeniable and so I won't resort to name-calling this time...I'll just leave it at that and let you continue on in your ignorant rants.
- shonoff95

Let me give you an example to illustrate the point i made. I am supposed to go to work everyday. I dont have to go to work everyday. What he was supposed to do and what he has to do are 2 different things. Im fully aware of the "hockey code". Not once did I defend Engelland in punching him in the back of the head. Not once did I resort to name calling.

Ahhh, the safety of our own thread...Brought to you by Ek and the thug like mentality of a Division's fan base hungry to gang up and be Internet tough guys.

Ahhh, the safety of our own thread...Brought to you by Ek and the thug like mentality of a Division's fan base hungry to gang up and be Internet tough guys.
- Doogs

Its as if these other fans think that there is some satisfaction to be gained by coming at us for something that occurred on the ice that we have ZERO control over. If it makes them feel better, write a letter to your team illustrating your displeasure with all things Pens. Ultimately, we are Pens fans--we dont care about your team--Flyers, Rangers, Islanders, Bruins etc; nor do we care about your opinion. Spew it on your board with your fellow sympathizers.
Where is Canadianpenfan when you need him?

he is clearly going for niskanen first. Engo sees that and intercepts and fills him in for grabbing a skill guy. Nobody was even fighting before that. Briere left the ice, schenn must have thought asham was a japanese businessman because he started bowing to him and waiting for the refs to save him. Simmonds and engo were also just pushing and pulling eachother for a while. Simmonds throws the first real wind up punch and about 1 second later gets pounded. Instead of learning the lesson the hard way he could have just asked shellley about engo.
- StabMastaArson

You might want to check with your buddy RawDog about the fight as even HE admits that engelland initiated the fight by throwing the first punches. The fact that you can't even see (or admit) that makes the rest of your post moot & irrelevant, not to mention discredited.

Let me give you an example to illustrate the point i made. I am supposed to go to work everyday. I dont have to go to work everyday. What he was supposed to do and what he has to do are 2 different things. Im fully aware of the "hockey code". Not once did I defend Engelland in punching him in the back of the head. Not once did I resort to name calling.
- Rawdog9755

whats the point rawdog. if it was the other way around, theyd be so happy that our guy got their face pounded in that they would be pissing their pants in jubliation.

Its as if these other fans think that there is some satisfaction to be gained by coming at us for something that occurred on the ice that we have ZERO control over. If it makes them feel better, write a letter to your team illustrating your displeasure with all things Pens. Ultimately, we are Pens fans--we dont care about your team--Flyers, Rangers, Islanders, Bruins etc; nor do we care about your opinion. Spew it on your board with your fellow sympathizers.
- Rawdog9755

Truthfully, I love going to the Flyers/Pens game day threads. For the most part they are a solid group that gives and gets and likes to talk game. And SOME Rags and Devil guys can be good...the name callers are the ones I can do without. Usually they are the first to tell us to go to our own thread and then follow us here.

whats the point rawdog. if it was the other way around, theyd be so happy that our guy got their face pounded in that they would be pissing their pants in jubliation.
- pensfan44

If it was such a big deal and Simmonds couldnt handle himself, then a Flyer shouldve jumped off the bench and taken the suspension the way a Pen did during the Isles brawl when whoever it was went after BJ. If it wasnt that big of a deal, then it is nothing worth whining about.

Its pretty clear Torts and Lavy are in some sort of fear of the Pens. Seriously, both are full on hypocrites about hits and dirty play from their own teams (aren't they like #1 and #3 in PIM's this year?) All pretty lame. Hopefully we can get back to hockey at some point.

Agreed 100%. I believe Simmonds had about 7-8 fights this year. So that gives the line about 10 fights for the season. I find it hard to believe Adams & Asham didn't have more than 10 fights between them. Besides, as you pointed out, the lines are not similar in any way, shape, or form...the Briere line is a scoring line, the vitale line is a checking/grinder line.
- shonoff95

Adams rarely fights and Asham has had concussion issues this year. Without looking, Id be hard pressed to believe they had 10 fights between the 2 this year. Tyler Kennedy probably has the same # of fights as Adams.

Nice write up John. Pens don't get preferential treatment and thats all there is to it. There is no objective evidence to the contrary. Pens are gritty but any good team in hockey is to some extent. Stephan went to avoid the hit, clearly and they collided. It was unfortunate. Detroit, Philly, Rangers and all decent teams must be physical to win. In collision sports things can go wrong.

This however if you watch the video closely is not a suspendable offence. Other than Cooke, who has reformed himself, there is not one 'goon' on this team. Once Mario spoke out it made him a target to others both fans and people in the NHL. People feel if you speak out you should play like choir boys and say please and thank you and courtsey when you skate by the opponents bench.

Get real people. Sorry if Stephan is hurt but this is more overblown and hyped than it ever deserved. It's sad actually so many people have homer eyes and think they are being objective.
- powerhouse

I hope that another Flyer gets hurt on Saturday, just so we can replay this week again. It's been fun. I hope that a Penguins player hurts an opponent in every game they have left.

I also love how the Penguins are the whiners when they've been quiet on all the issues.

By the way, you trolls could learn some lessons from Bruins fan, I mean Asham obviously attempted to end Boychuck career, but they haven't stormed our board like the Westboro Baptists at a protest.

- golfingsince

I think you are confusing stars getting preferential treatment vs Pens getting preferential treatment. It just so happens we have more stars than most teams. It is the way sports work. Look at the NFL and the Brady rule. Look at the NBA and foul calls against guys like Lebron and Kobe. Its not fair, but its how it works.

- golfingsince

What a classy team