McCartyFanForLife

Please tell me I'm not the only who knows that NO NEW rule was created here. Avery's actions were unsportsmanlike conduct. The ref could have called a penalty, he didn't, now the league is letting everyone know that it won't be let go in the future...

Amen! Hurt him so much he goes crying home to eat some whale!

*Grasping at straws*

Taping to stick - not sure how that would happen because to do that you have to pick up the puck (penalty) and grab tape from the bench and then tape the puck to your stick. Shouting teammates nickname - Are you kidding me? This is not even the same realm of situations as what Avery did. The unsportsmanlike conduct allows the ref to call penalties to what he deems as "unsportsmanlike conduct" He could have called Avery for that last night; he chose not too. Now the league issued a statement to let everyone know that it will not be let go again.

They didn't make a new rule. They already had "unsportsmanlike conduct". The ref could have called Avery for doing that yesterday, but he didn't. The league is just letting everyone know that those actions will be interpreted as "unsportsmanlike conduct". No new rule was created here.

This is what I think of Pierre

Excellent! Good to hear the NHL won't sit back on this

I agree; personally I think one of the Devils should have blasted him right in front of the net. The problem is that it's the playoffs and that is EXACTLY what Avery wanted. He doesn't mind getting creamed; that's what makes him a great instigator. The reason a penalty is more than a timeout is because if Avery had gotten a penalty for that, his coach would have been livid with him and guarantee they wouldn't let him do it again. Penalties don't just punish the player, they punish the team.

The point is that the only way to punish Avery was to put him in the box where he belonged. He has "punished" on the ice by players before. He also has been in Brodeur's face before. Nothing in the past deterred him from doing what he did. Pronger has been punished in the past and he continues to do stupid antics on the ice. I agree that the game police itself to a certain extent, but the only way to take care of this is to penalize a player for acting like an idiot

The whole game was just incredible. Calgary turned their team around 180 degrees after the 3 goals were scored. San Jose could have just played the trap the rest of the game and been fine, but in typical San Jose fashion, they screwed it up

1:55... 3 hours and 5 minutes til I get to go home!

Yeah it's pretty sad. Apparently some people don't see the line between "Playing with Class" and "Playing like an Ass"

Only 5 hours and 41 minutes til game time!!! Let's go Wings!!!

The NHL already has a rule in place for something like this. The unsportsmanlike conduct penalty can be used in this case. There's nothing in the rule book that says a player can't go in between the circles and do a snow angel to distract the team. Nothing in the rulebook that says a player can't shoot the puck at an opposing player on purpose. The unsportsmanlike conduct rule is in the book for situations just like this

I think the question is, do fans now want to see, on every power play, an opponent going to the front of the net and acting like a freaking clown to distract the goaltender? Imagine how ridiculous NHL games would look if a player did that on every power play. Since I think everyone would agree that Avery was trying to distract Brodeur so that a goal could be scored, why can't a player fake a horrific injury to stop an odd man rush? If someone senses a 2 on 1 developing, they could drop to the ice and fake a seizure so that play will be stopped. "But that's just not right". Yes, it's "Unsportsmanlike Conduct". Even though it's not explicitly stated in the rule book, that is not a legal play.

I don't think the NHL will create a new rule on this; they'll just the use the rule they already have: unsportsmanlike conduct. Avery was not trying to block Brodeur's vision so they could score a goal (although that was probably a secondary action); he was trying to incite Brodeur into a penalty. Inciting a player into a penalty is already in the rule book. If Avery was trying to block Brodeur's vision, he can use his fat arse. That blocks more of Brodeur's vision than a shaft of a stick.

yes, the 2 eastern conference games that night both start at 7P Eastern Time. Since the NHL would like to keep viewers for more than a couple hours, they had to start the Wings game later. Because Nashville is in the Central time zone, it made it easier. So they pushed the start to 9P Eastern time (since 10P would be too late).

Gary Thorne and Bill Clement Nothing beats Gary Thorne's yell when someone scores. The versus guy that did the Rangers/Devils game sounds like a seal mating call when he yells "SCORES".

They talked about it during the game. Apparently the ref told Avery that the play was over and to get back to playing. Avery didn't see the puck leave the zone.

Also a really selfish play; his teammates had to make sure he wasn't going to be in the way of a shot cause he obviously couldn't see what the heck was going on behind him. Again, it's just a stupid play because using your body to block the goaltender's vision is 100x better than using a stick. I wish a teammate would have shot the puck right into his arse.

Oh I know they don't call almost highsticking. My point is that normally, a player's stick is along the ice unless he is deflecting a puck or hitting it out of mid-air. Avery was not using his stick for any of those purposes: he wasn't trying to deflect a shot, he wasn't trying to shoot. He was swinging his stick dangerously close to Brodeur's head. Now, if he would have used his hand, I would have no problem with that. I don't know why he didn't; your hand can block more than your stick can. Personally, if I was Brodeur, I would have stuck my head out and drawn a penalty. All he would have to do is move forward quickly and swing his head back; ref would have called it in a heartbeat.

Well, even tough he didn't hit Brodeur with his stick, he was coming awfully close to high sticking. I don't think the league wants players to have their sticks that high. The goalie can get a stick through the mask, a defenseman can get hit. Avery didn't actually hit Brodeur, but for his strategy to be effective, your stick has to be right up against the goalie's mask. I've had players do that in a rec league game. The problem is, once they get about 6 inches away, I can see everything; the angle is lost. So in that regard, it's used more as a tactic to piss people off than actually score a goal.

Oh yes, Pierre is turtley enough for the turtle club

Compare this pic with this one The resemblance is quite striking

I think the Wings will need to weather the storm; Nashville is gonna come out strong. Wings - 4 (Z, Lids, Hudler, DMac) Preds - 1 (Poopoo)