Perry Crosses The Laine https://t.co/oLb1S33Bwa pic.twitter.com/Cq4xWdZQi4
— SabresBuzz (@SabresBuzz) May 17, 2016
Ask NHL players what they think of Corey Perry.
Most will tell you that they hate to play against the Anaheim Duck. Most will tell you that they would rather have Perry on his team rather than play against him.
Perry has a nasty reputation as a cruel dude.
His discipline, and lack thereof, has bitten him and his teams in the back side in the past.
He's built quite a reputation over the years as a skilled guy who will do whatever it takes to win a battle and win a a game. He will carve guys with sticks, punch guys in the face, gouge guys in a scrum, and will throw his weight around whenever he wants to .
Problem being, his opponents often complain that that they never see Perry's truculence coming. Why Corey Perry acts aggressively like he does at critical moments in games is a question that only he can answer.
Perry is a warrior soul and hates losing. In the NHL, he crosses the line to fire up his teammates. He skates outside the lines in international hockey, too.
Case in point.
Period 2 at the IIHF World Championships on Tuesday. With Canada trailing 2-0 in the second period to the pesky Finns, the 30 year old Perry accidentally on purpose threw a leg/knee out at 18 year Finn phenom Patrick Laine on a line change. Perry clearly targeted Laine's left leg in their line change collision. Laine hobbled to the Finland bench and was attended to by the Finnish trainer.
The Patrik Laine / Corey Perry incident... #IIHFWorlds pic.twitter.com/UF6ogjOJd3
— Robert Söderlind (@HockeyWebCast) May 17, 2016
TSNs Ryan Rishaug asked Perry about the greasy hit on Laine after the game Perry answered; "I have no idea what you are talking about".
Uh. Ok, Corey.
Canada went 10-0 in their gold medal performance quest at the 2015 IIHF World Championships.
Canada and Finland entered Tuesday's game each with 6-0 perfect records atop Group B.
Canada had scored 34 goals in their first 6 games and were making it look easy against lesser opponents.
Canada's lack of discipline reared it's ugly head, courtesy of it's leader Corey Perry.
Perry was clearly agitated and frustrated by the Finns' dominance. To that point in the game, Canada had landed only 12 shots on the Finnish keeper. Canada has slayed opponents on their man advantage situations at the Worlds, however, the Finns held them without a power play opportunity through the first 40 minutes of play.
Laine has been putting on a pyro technics at the Worlds and is one of the top scorers in the tourney. He is trying to become the highest scoring 18 year old in this tourney's history. Laine entered Tuesday's battle with Canada having scored 6 goals and 4 assists in the first 6 games of the tourney.
Perry obviously is not a fan of Laine, who will be selected first or second overall at the NHL Draft come late June in Buffalo.
Laine led his club team in scoring this season en route to the Finnish Elite League championship. He also powered his Finn squad to the IIHF World Junior Championship gold medal.
Not bad for a kid who just turned 18 last month.
Final score:
4-0 Finland.
Cam Talbots was brutal in allowing two goals against in the final moments in the second period to give the pesky Finns the 3-00 lead after 40.
Canada took five penalties. Finland took one penalty.
Canada could only muster 21 shots on goal.
The Finns improved to 7-0 and won Group B.
Instead of playing Denmark, Canada (6-1) will play Sweden in the quarterfinals.
Canada must now tasked with winning three straight games to win back-to-back gold medals. Not an impossible feat, however, it won't be easy.