Do you really think that would have changed anything?
- jordan456789

Sure might have ...

Orpik may have never made that hit on Eriksson for fear of retribution.

Furthermore, in the ensuing pounding he would have received instantly afterward, things may have gone differently.

I liked the HNIC take on it, but I lean more towards it being an officiating issue. If they take care of that sh!t when it happens, Orpik gets a penalty, sure Thornton or Looch would have probably poked at him later but it would have brought temps down dramatically.

Look at (frank)ing Phaneuf tonight, what do you think is going to happen now? Officials blow calls and have the consistency of a schizophrenic off their meds and players decide they need to police it themselves, since clearly the officials won't do an adequate job of it.

I liked the HNIC take on it, but I lean more towards it being an officiating issue. If they take care of that sh!t when it happens, Orpik gets a penalty, sure Thornton or Looch would have probably poked at him later but it would have brought temps down dramatically.

Look at (frank)ing Phaneuf tonight, what do you think is going to happen now? Officials blow calls and have the consistency of a schizophrenic off their meds and players decide they need to police it themselves, since clearly the officials won't do an adequate job of it.
- Double_A

If the refereeing and the supplemental discipline are going to be inconsistent and a joke, the instagator penalty needs to go so that the players can police the game, as nobody else is doing it.

On the other hand, if the refereeing and the supplemental discipline are both spot-on, fair and consistent, then you can have a rule like the instagator rule in place and it will be effective.

The problem right now is that you have the instagator rule, but the refereeing and the supplemental discipline are both a (frank)ing horror show, so there is no justice anywhere and it enables incidents like Thornton / Orpik.

The NHL can't have it both ways ... Just doesn't work.

Kelly slashed him right back so that is even. The hit on Eriksson was questionable and some could say was clean as well as a hit i bet most of the bruins would have made. The Neal play was brutal and should be suspended. The play by Thornton was much worse than you said. The way he took him down was dangerous as well as the hit to the head while his dead was so close to the ice. Very dirty play and he will be suspended.
- jordan456789

If Chara did that same hot to Crosby I'd say it was interference.

Go eat some poutine

If Chara did that same hot to Crosby I'd say it was interference.

Go eat some poutine
- bruinsbeer69

Shouldn'tt youu bee busyy writingg a blogg for that insiderr guyy??

Shouldn'tt youu bee busyy writingg a blogg for that insiderr guyy??
- braidan

Yeah, what ever happened with that?

Yeah, what ever happened with that?
- Aloha Mr. Hand

I want to know if he found out who he really he is.

Claude said it best without actually saying it. Orpik got his because he takes any opportunity he can to try to hurt players. Maybe he'll think twice about a dangerous illegal hit next time. Good job 22, sorry you have to apologize for Brooksy being a coward.

Claude said it best without actually saying it. Orpik got his because he takes any opportunity he can to try to hurt players. Maybe he'll think twice about a dangerous illegal hit next time. Good job 22, sorry you have to apologize for Brooksy being a coward.
- gforce

I think he faked being unconscious as well. A new low for hockey, and for all of the "fans" who actually bought into this crap ...

Question is, do the Pens play him tonight or hold him out and go for the larger suspension? Wouldn't put it past Mario to do the latter in an effort to protect his band of princesses from having to pay the fiddler for their cheap and cowardly way of play moving forward

Gutless organization

Pretty much JS. The more I see it and think about it the more it pisses me off. A couple little jabs and 22's the biggest douche since Bertuzzi because he gently pulled the guy down first. Meanwhile these (frank)s continue to take liberties seemingly any chance they get. Bruins play rough and on edge but don't try to maim people. (frank) em all. Again, great job Cloooode and Thornton.

@DarrenDreger: 5 games for Neal. Phaneuf phone hearing tomorrow at 10am.

Orpik on IR with concussion? Tough sh!t. Needs a second opinion from Dr. Recchi, who now dedicates himself full time to medical conditions.

Btw, any word or ideas yet on how toothpik actually hurt himself?

Befuddled.

Pretty much JS. The more I see it and think about it the more it pisses me off. A couple little jabs and 22's the biggest douche since Bertuzzi because he gently pulled the guy down first. Meanwhile these (frank)s continue to take liberties seemingly any chance they get. Bruins play rough and on edge but don't try to maim people. (frank) em all. Again, great job Cloooode and Thornton.
- gforce

Sure might have ...

Orpik may have never made that hit on Eriksson for fear of retribution.

Furthermore, in the ensuing pounding he would have received instantly afterward, things may have gone differently.
- Aloha Mr. Hand

A player should be able to make a hit without having to fight afterward. Regardless of the initial hit without a instigator penalty would things change? If Thornton disregards the rules enough to slew foot him and hit him when he is down do you honestly thing the instigator rule changed his mind?

Orpik's injury isn't even relevant here, or the fact that Thornton didn't really hammer him. You can't do that sh!t, and if it was the other way around we wouldn't be ok with it. It was bush, there were mitigating factors, but it was still bush.

He deserves to be suspended, he'll accept it like a man, and that'll be that.

I'd totally be ok with it if someone had done the exact same thing to Marchand after he moronically stuck his knee out on that dude last year.

The issue I have is the idea amongst a great number of the masses that Orpik's hit
was clean and legal and that he should continue doing it. HIS hit was bush, dangerous and not an isolated incident for him. Not to sound like a proxy but I really feel what I've been saying about the final outcome is what Claude hinted at and what he really wanted to say. What 22 did was bush but to a lesser extent and given the fact that he tried to get him to engage traditionally, given the fact that he's seen multiple teammates get badly hurt with bush hits and given the fact that he's been widely criticized for not doing something about it -- well I can live with it and I applaud it. It wasn't that big a deal.

The issue I have is the idea amongst a great number of the masses that Orpik's hit
was clean and legal and that he should continue doing it. HIS hit was bush, dangerous and not an isolated incident for him. Not to sound like a proxy but I really feel what I've been saying about the final outcome is what Claude hinted at and what he really wanted to say. What 22 did was bush but to a lesser extent and given the fact that he tried to get him to engage traditionally, given the fact that he's seen multiple teammates get badly hurt with bush hits and given the fact that he's been widely criticized for not doing something about it -- well I can live with it and I applaud it. It wasn't that big a deal.
- gforce

Yeah, I get that for sure, the whole thing has been sensationalized a bit.

I'm a little on the fence about Orpik's hit, if Loui had the puck I think it was fine. As it was it was clearly away from the play and a penalty, but the hit itself seemed good to me. I've watched it a couple times and I'm still of the opinion he didn't catch his head, looked like impact with the ice that scrambled Loui up.

I wonder what made Shanahan decide that Neal would only be eligible for 5 games maximum?

Had Marchand left the game, would it have been an in-person?

And if Marchand was conveniently placed in the IR before the hearing, would Neal have gotten more than 5?

To me, that knee to the head is EXACTLY the kind of crap that the league should be trying to get out of the game.

5 games just doesn't send that message ...

I wonder what made Shanahan decide that Neal would only be eligible for 5 games maximum?

Had Marchand left the game, would it have been an in-person?

And if Marchand was conveniently placed in the IR before the hearing, would Neal have gotten more than 5?

To me, that knee to the head is EXACTLY the kind of crap that the league should be trying to get out of the game.

5 games just doesn't send that message ...
- Aloha Mr. Hand

Because the league puts a lot of weight on if there was an injury and not on intent; something that makes no sense to me...

Because the league puts a lot of weight on if there was an injury and not on intent; something that makes no sense to me...
- busher

Yup.

Will be infuriating to see Thornton get more than Neal, given Neal's pattern and history for this kind of thing that apparently isn't being deterred by these cheesy little suspensions.

Yup.

Will be infuriating to see Thornton get more than Neal, given Neal's pattern and history for this kind of thing that apparently isn't being deterred by these cheesy little suspensions.
- Aloha Mr. Hand

TSN was predicting 10-15 games...

I wonder what made Shanahan decide that Neal would only be eligible for 5 games maximum?

Had Marchand left the game, would it have been an in-person?

And if Marchand was conveniently placed in the IR before the hearing, would Neal have gotten more than 5?

To me, that knee to the head is EXACTLY the kind of crap that the league should be trying to get out of the game.

5 games just doesn't send that message ...
- Aloha Mr. Hand

Neal gets 5 probably because he is a star and Thornton is a 4th line player and him missing 5 games has more of an impact. I don't agree with this but that combined with the fact Marchand wasn't injured. Like i said before they should suspend the act not the result.

Yeah, what ever happened with that?
- Aloha Mr. Hand

Bwahahah

Just kinda fizzled after he got smoked at the deadline last season