Take your Filthy Flyers colored glasses off. The Penguins are not a dirty team, even though players occasionally stray well beyond the line of decency. Neal's hit is bogus and must be dealt with. As a Pens fan, I love his shot, but cant stand players taking cheap shots. We hate when people take cheap runs at our stars, so we should also disapprove when one of our own loses his head and plays dirty. I find it funny that a Flyers fan wants to call out the Penguins for being dirty. Talk about pot calling the kettle black.... That organization bases its entire existence on dirty play and intimidation. The Neal hit was dirty and people have every right to criticize it. But you show your true colors as soon as you start bashing Sidney Crosby. Crosby is not dirty and is nowhere near a whiner. This from the fan base who constantly chants "Crosby Sucks" at every game. The Penguins as a team are not dirty and have shown they don't put up with consistent dirty play--see Matt Cooke.
And Brooks Orpik is NOT a dirty player. He hits clean, respects the game and his fellow players.
- Amanion

Every poll in the country has Pittsburgh as the dirtiest team in the NHL! Enough said!

Take your Filthy Flyers colored glasses off. The Penguins are not a dirty team, even though players occasionally stray well beyond the line of decency. Neal's hit is bogus and must be dealt with. As a Pens fan, I love his shot, but cant stand players taking cheap shots. We hate when people take cheap runs at our stars, so we should also disapprove when one of our own loses his head and plays dirty. I find it funny that a Flyers fan wants to call out the Penguins for being dirty. Talk about pot calling the kettle black.... That organization bases its entire existence on dirty play and intimidation. The Neal hit was dirty and people have every right to criticize it. But you show your true colors as soon as you start bashing Sidney Crosby. Crosby is not dirty and is nowhere near a whiner. This from the fan base who constantly chants "Crosby Sucks" at every game. The Penguins as a team are not dirty and have shown they don't put up with consistent dirty play--see Matt Cooke.
And Brooks Orpik is NOT a dirty player. He hits clean, respects the game and his fellow players.
- Amanion

Oh get off the pulpit, Reverend.

James Neal is a dirty player, who plays without respect to opposing players. This is not the first time he's laid a cheap shot on another player.

Evgeni Malkin is another "Sneaky-dirty" player. He gets away with a ton because he's a star player, but he's definitely got a nasty streak to him. I saw him slew foot Paul Mara of the Rangers TWICE in a single shift. Far from a clean player.

Ask Brett MacLean how clean Crosby is. Crosby decided to start pummeling that kid off a faceoff a few years back, and kept hitting him even after MacLean turtled. We've also all seen the video of Sid punching a dude in the jewels...far from clean play.

Go ahead, play the Flyers card...Zac Rinaldo is a meat head and should be suspended for his attack on Roussel in Dallas. I'm not blind to my team's antics or reputation. Don't be a hypocrite and say that sort of nonsense isn't tolerated in Pittsburgh, because every team in the NHL has had or has guys that cross the line and play dirty. Jesus, the Pens had Ulf Samuelsson and Matt Cooke on their rosters for years, if you want to take a look back through the ages.

If you can't admit that there's no team that has clean hands as far as dirty play goes, then you're biased and simply can't have a rational discussion.

Oh get off the pulpit, Reverend.

James Neal is a dirty player, who plays without respect to opposing players. This is not the first time he's laid a cheap shot on another player.

Evgeni Malkin is another "Sneaky-dirty" player. He gets away with a ton because he's a star player, but he's definitely got a nasty streak to him. I saw him slew foot Paul Mara of the Rangers TWICE in a single shift. Far from a clean player.

Ask Brett MacLean how clean Crosby is. Crosby decided to start pummeling that kid off a faceoff a few years back, and kept hitting him even after MacLean turtled. We've also all seen the video of Sid punching a dude in the jewels...far from clean play.

Go ahead, play the Flyers card...Zac Rinaldo is a meat head and should be suspended for his attack on Roussel in Dallas. I'm not blind to my team's antics or reputation. Don't be a hypocrite and say that sort of nonsense isn't tolerated in Pittsburgh, because every team in the NHL has had or has guys that cross the line and play dirty. Jesus, the Pens had Ulf Samuelsson and Matt Cooke on their rosters for years, if you want to take a look back through the ages.

If you can't admit that there's no team that has clean hands as far as dirty play goes, then you're biased and simply can't have a rational discussion.
- Jsaquella

Once again we have a case of the Pot calling a kettle black. Seems I clearly admitted James Neal's cheap shot on the Bruin was dirty. You on the other hand, have only attacked what, half the Penguins roster? I guess I erred in expecting anything different from a Flyers fan. First Neal, then Orpik, then Crosby, now Malkin too. I guess your next reply will somehow accuse Bylsma or Fleury of some dirty play, since according to you, that's all these Penguins do.

Find me one player who never took a dirty shot at someone in their career. Even the great Lemieux and Gretzky took shots at people. Id say Ron Francis was probably close to being clean, but Ill bet somewhere along the way he took a liberty as well. If you play the game long enough, someone can find a borderline or worse hit/play/shot that you laid on someone. I love how your defense of your claim that Crosby is dirty highlights one incident. I love how you neglect to discuss the cheap shots--uncalled, BTW--that Crosby absorbed before he went ballistic. I havent seen posts from Pens fans defending Neal; most that Ive seen critique him just as everyone else rightfully is doing. Yet the vitriol against the Pens team and their fans is amazing, not just from you but across the blogs. The fact is, you are a Flyers fan and therefore, you passionately HATE the Penguins. Fine, thats a what happens in a great rivalry. But dont come off as if you are some rational, impartial observer, because you are not. You are simply letting your hatred for the Penguins bleed into your discussion. But you take it much further in assaulting the character of these players. I once saw Dan McGillis break his stick over Jaromir Jagr's head when Jagr played for the Pens. It went uncalled by the refs that day. By your logic, that means every player who ever put on a Flyer sweater instantly became dirty.

And dont forget it was Lemieux who called Cooke in after his cheap shot against the Rangers and demanded he get help and change his game--which Cooke did, I might add. So yeah, Mario complained about the way the game was played after the Islanders assault on the Pens a few years ago. But at least be backed up his complaint by demanding change from one of his own. You neglect to mention that, instead, focusing on Mario's reputation as a whiner during his playing days. On this subject, I wouldnt go dealing in past reputations if I were you, because Im sure I dont need to remind you of the Flyers reputation as a franchise. If past reputation--such as Mario's that you brought up--is one of your key points, you are going to lose that debate quite handily.
Im all for a rational discussion of the cheap hits. But while you impugn me and accuse me of being completely biased, it is you who are in fact biased against the Penguins and unable to carry on an unbiased discussion. As I said before, there is no place in the game for what James Neal did, nor is there for what Thornton did. Both were shameful. ut that must somehow be a biased opinion as well.

All I ask for is consistency in the penalty calling. No matter what team or player, if the act is wrong then it should be penalized; my team included. I never want to see a player hurt. I want my team to defeat another team on even footing. That being said, I think that some players, and teams are favored in the penalty calling. If Renaldo does something stupid call a penalty or more. However, if Crosby or Ovie or another superstar does the same act, give him equal treatment. Don't jump in, and say that was a great hit or back check when it was a dirty act. If the league is going to keep the players safe, you must call all the dirty crap. On the other side of the coin, hitting is part of the sport. Send a tape to all the teams showing good hits, and bad hits, and what is going to be called. In addition, stop the players from protecting the puck by facing towards the boards. You just have to enforce the rules, and keep things simple. Penalties, fines, and suspensions across the board. If a player injures another player enough to threaten his career (see Burt who plays for Detroit), then he should be banned for life. Once the players see how the league handles these sad situations, the players should fall into line. No special treatment. No special rewards for bad behavior.
It's that simple.
Thanks for listening.

Once again we have a case of the Pot calling a kettle black. Seems I clearly admitted James Neal's cheap shot on the Bruin was dirty. You on the other hand, have only attacked what, half the Penguins roster? I guess I erred in expecting anything different from a Flyers fan. First Neal, then Orpik, then Crosby, now Malkin too. I guess your next reply will somehow accuse Bylsma or Fleury of some dirty play, since according to you, that's all these Penguins do.

Find me one player who never took a dirty shot at someone in their career. Even the great Lemieux and Gretzky took shots at people. Id say Ron Francis was probably close to being clean, but Ill bet somewhere along the way he took a liberty as well. If you play the game long enough, someone can find a borderline or worse hit/play/shot that you laid on someone. I love how your defense of your claim that Crosby is dirty highlights one incident. I love how you neglect to discuss the cheap shots--uncalled, BTW--that Crosby absorbed before he went ballistic. I havent seen posts from Pens fans defending Neal; most that Ive seen critique him just as everyone else rightfully is doing. Yet the vitriol against the Pens team and their fans is amazing, not just from you but across the blogs. The fact is, you are a Flyers fan and therefore, you passionately HATE the Penguins. Fine, thats a what happens in a great rivalry. But dont come off as if you are some rational, impartial observer, because you are not. You are simply letting your hatred for the Penguins bleed into your discussion. But you take it much further in assaulting the character of these players. I once saw Dan McGillis break his stick over Jaromir Jagr's head when Jagr played for the Pens. It went uncalled by the refs that day. By your logic, that means every player who ever put on a Flyer sweater instantly became dirty.

And dont forget it was Lemieux who called Cooke in after his cheap shot against the Rangers and demanded he get help and change his game--which Cooke did, I might add. So yeah, Mario complained about the way the game was played after the Islanders assault on the Pens a few years ago. But at least be backed up his complaint by demanding change from one of his own. You neglect to mention that, instead, focusing on Mario's reputation as a whiner during his playing days. On this subject, I wouldnt go dealing in past reputations if I were you, because Im sure I dont need to remind you of the Flyers reputation as a franchise. If past reputation--such as Mario's that you brought up--is one of your key points, you are going to lose that debate quite handily.
Im all for a rational discussion of the cheap hits. But while you impugn me and accuse me of being completely biased, it is you who are in fact biased against the Penguins and unable to carry on an unbiased discussion. As I said before, there is no place in the game for what James Neal did, nor is there for what Thornton did. Both were shameful. ut that must somehow be a biased opinion as well.
- Amanion

Swing and a miss.

I never said that the Penguins were a dirty team. My point was that every team has had a dirty player on their roster at one time or another. Your "Holier than Thou" attitude is what I was commenting on. I'm not saying that the Flyers are clean-far from it. I know full well the antics and actions of the Flyers in the past-and present, and I definitely don't pretend that they're some squeaky clean outfit of altar boys

Mario demanded change from one of his own after he got suspended and missed the playoffs. It's not as if Cooke had one incident and Mario said to knock it off or you're out of here. Cooke was among the dirtiest players in the NHL for several years before Mario did anything. You accuse others of ignoring their own team's actions, yet have this hypocritical attitude as if the Penguins would never stoop to such nonsense.

I don't have a hatred for the Pens. I have a hatred for stupidity.

In the game between the Bruins and Pens, Shawn Thornton committed an overt cheap shot. No question he will get suspended for a long time and deservedly so. But James Neal intentionally kneed a fallen player in the head. Pascal Dupuis broke another opposing player's ankle with a slash.

So don't sell that "The Penguins don't tolerate that stuff" here. Because that is absolutely bullpoop. Teams will accept it until it starts to cost them games. That includes the Penguins, Flyers, Bruins...and 27 other NHL teams.