norrisnick

Hudler took inventory before he passed. He was in the clear. Brown was outside the bubble necessary to impact the play Hudler was trying to make. You can't fault Jiri for not expecting Brown to go above and beyond in order to "finish his check" (a check that didn't start until the puck was already gone).

Yes. 1. It was late. 2. The league passed out a memo regarding blows to the head. It's not technically in the books, but the league is after it (at the urging of the NHLPA).

There is no double-minor for interference (unless you interfere twice). It's nothing, 2, or 5. I do believe the game is discretionary.

I think the big difference between the two plays (besides two different teams, two different games, and two different sets of stripes) is that Bayda wasn't the goal scorer. He wasn't taking the puck to the net on a scoring chance. He simply took a beeline at Thomas when Jokinen took the shoot. You get a bit more leeway if you have the possession of the puck.

No. It was a 4th line jobber that wanted to take a skill guy out of the game. Be it by injury or intimidation. Obviously he understimated Hudler.

No, he was making sure his dump in actually went deep so he'd know whether he had to switch to backcheck mode or not. I highly doubt "Damn, that was a nice bankshot off the boards" was going through his head. Hockey is a fast pace game and it can switch from offense to defense and back in an instant. You have to be aware of where the puck is and where it's going. Which means sometimes you have to look at it. Which means sometimes you aren't aware that the guy that was 40' away the last time you glanced his way is about to explode into your head even though the puck is miles (figuratively) away. Brown went a looong way to hit Hudler late. Should have eased up, but I guess he decided to get his money's worth. Hudler is short, he can't help it. You forgot a third. The puck was long gone (Hudler at our blueline the puck was at theirs when he got hit).

He should have peeled off entirely rather than veering INTO Hudler after the puck was dumped in to Filppula. Hudler is heading straight for the bench and Brown was heading up ice following the puck. Hudler getting "by him for a rush" was impossible. As was the dreaded knee on knee unless Brown was the guy aiming for it. He was too late for the hit. Exploding into Hudler's head was pretty much the dumbest course of action he could take at that point. He got lucky that Pavel and Hossa couldn't accomplish anything on the PP or otherwise and only the one individual effort by Franzen went in.

You shouldn't be vulnerable if it isn't legal to be hit. Jiri was looking where he was going and it was clear to make a play. He made a play behind him on a dump in to Filppula. At that point he's no longer fair game and he's watching the puck to make sure it gets in. He turns back forward and get's lit up. It's kind of hard to play the game of hockey if you have to spend the entire time on the lookout for cheapshots. You're going to miss a lot of passing plays and the like if you're constantly looking over your shoulder.

To all the people shouting "keep your head up!" or the alternative "don't admire your pass!" you have to look at the puck to see where it's going so you know where to go. What Hudler did wasn't so much a pass as an off the boards dump in to a chasing Filppula. Hudler has to look at the puck to make sure it gets in or if he has to retreat to play defense. If he turns away from the play, the puck doesn't get in and is heading back to our end, he's screwed defensively. He got blindsided. Not only that he got blindsided late. Not only that he got blindsided late and to the head. There is nothing remotely clean about that hit. Nor should there be. It was one of those plays by Brown where he really should have the thought "this could end a career" running through his head.

Yes. It's a new penalty they created in the offseason before the '07-'08 season. The league wanted a suitable penalty for plays just like this. Blatant vicious hits that were nowhere near the play. As it was before they could only call 2 for interference but couldn't ramp it up if was beyond your garden variety late hit or hit away from the puck. Funnily enough the first time the league called it was on Boogaard when he took a pointless run at Downey in a preseason game.

Not in the sense that I'm trying to get you to freak out in a profanity laced diatribe. But I can dangle a little worm around and see if something bites. Asking pointed questions with expected responses is in a technical sense "baiting" but it's harmless. It's not done in an attempt to destroy the 'harmony' that exists on LGW. How does a vein leak if it isn't broken? Don't forget that a vein is nothing more or less than a blood vessel so there is no difference in those terms. And we already know it's a vein and not an artery that's popped in Lilly's head.

Kenny offered $4M to Shanny.

Have you watched many Caps games over the last 4 years? Alex has spent a ton of time up on the point waiting to unleash the one-timer. Same as Kovalchuk. Which would be even better, because I don't think Sammy has one-timed a single puck while he was up high. He only ever does so when he rotates down below the lefthand circle.

Sergei is never going back to Russia apart from visits. He has a home in the Detroit area and I think California as well.

Which is exactly why we need him. At some point in time someone has to take the shot. Don't forget the added bonus. AO is a righty. Say good-bye to Samuelsson on the PP!

Can you define bruise for me, doc? Keep it simple though as I'm not a doctor, and thusly am not bound by any sort of technobabble they might be bound to. Keep in mind I've got another ace in the hole once we get that far.

A. I'll pass on the associations with Cincy, thanks. B. That would be because the Wings didn't give two s***s about the last month of the season. Might argue almost all of it with a couple random games mixed in. They were guaranteed the Central when training camp started. There was a bit of a chance of getting the top seed but didn't really feel like working hard enough to get it. And looky looky they're the top seed now anyway. C. The Ducks were playing for their playoff lives and barely made it. I'd hope they'd have a good showing on whatever convoluted metric that is there.

No, I understand completely. The word concussion has several different usages by different sorts of people (even within the realm of medicine). Some are a bit more specific and others are a bit more all-encompassing. You're picking nits, and I don't get picked easily. So perhaps the misunderstanding may just be on your end.

Ovechkin without even a second's hesitation. The Wings have more than a handful of players that love nothing more than to pass the puck rather than take the shot themselves. A guy who loves to shoot and has a great shot is the easy choice here.

Exactly right. It's the cause of what is described as a concussion. Bump on the head. Bleeding/bruising in the noodle. Headaches. Congrats you have a concussion.

There are two main uses of concussion. One where there is no structural damage to the brain and the symptoms are purely that, symptoms affecting brain function and the other also includes structural damage such as bruising which is nothing more than the pooling of blood which happens how? By bleeding in or around the brain. Concussion, minor traumatic brain injury, intracranial hemorrhages, booboo, whatever you want to call what Lilly has, it falls under the umbrella of what the league refers to as "concussion like symptoms" which limits strenuous physical exertion.

It's both. There's always a rookie dinner, but guys that sign big deals get hit up for a dinner as well. Fedorov's was a bit more publicized than most, but I've read numerous mentions thereof in the past all around the league. The organization got the services of the best two-way forward in the prime of his life for what turned out to be a very reasonable figure over the life of the contract. The up front value hurt, but they got more than their money's worth over the long run. If anyone in the organization was unhappy about what they got in return, I don't know what to tell you. Better ways to go about things? Absolutely, but Kenny/Devellano/etc... could have decided not to lowball him to begin with. It takes two to tango.

You're not allowed to skate and work out with concussion symptoms otherwise Lilly would have been doing so for the last month plus. I've got to think something is broken. Not enough to bother him too much (like he'd let anything bother him) but not healed enough where he can go out there and play.

Broke with tradition? I'm fairly certain that the guy who signs the big deal gets hit up for dinner all around the league. It's a tradition on par with the rookie dinner. You finally get the big money, you're taking the guys out to eat.

And I wasn't talking simply about Crosby. I posed a question for you that centered around the last "golden child" to enter the NHL before Crosby. That being Lindros. Back when the trade happened would you rather have had Lindros? Or would you rather have had Peter Forsberg, Mike Ricci, Steve Duchesne, Ron Hextall, Kerry Huffman, Chris Simon, two 1st round picks, and $15M? Now trading Crosby away won't quite garner that much, but would most certainly fetch you a top shelf forward, a top shelf blueliner, and a couple bluechippers and/or picks.