Lessard ejected for clean hit

[jollymania 162]

another clean hit gets an ejection, this has to be about the 10th one this year, and on top of that the many that resulted in penalties

[Jedi 1,865]

It's easy to say it was clean when we have the capability to view it and review it and slow it down and pause it, etc. When you're the ref on the ice, seeing the game going by in one speed, a hit like that from his angle probably looked bad enough to call.

Was it the wrong call to make? Yeah, probably. Does that mean that this hit is now indicative of a league wide policy/conspiracy to end hitting? Hardly.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

It's easy to say it was clean when we have the capability to view it and review it and slow it down and pause it, etc. When you're the ref on the ice, seeing the game going by in one speed, a hit like that from his angle probably looked bad enough to call.

Was it the wrong call to make? Yeah, probably. Does that mean that this hit is now indicative of a league wide policy/conspiracy to end hitting? Hardly.

^This.

Saying this is the end of htting is a huge overreaction.

[Wings_Toledo 233]

I could see how maybe that would be considered a charge, but in my opinion, this is a perfect example of what kind of hit the league said is allowed in their little explanation video about head shots that was posted to NHL.com when the new rules took effect. I don't think big hits are going away but I, too, am a little concerned that this hit resulted in a game misconduct.

[newfy 695]

Somewhere in his little cave Gary is currently happy because the game of hockey is getting closer and closer to soccer on ice. Well the sweet love he is making to Crosby also helps I'm sure, but this still makes Gary happy

[eva unit zero 271]

Things that were wrong with Lessard's hit:

It was charging in that he took multiple strides gearing up for the hit.

It was elbowing, as he led with his elbow and that was the initial contact point.

It was a head-shot in that he hit the player in the head as the principal point of contact.

Lessard should be happy if that game is the only one.

[Bring Back The Bruise Bros 1,029]

I don't see how that's a charge. The color commentator even went to the extent of saying the game is "being attacked", because of disciplinary action for seemingly good hockey hits. At worst, it was MAYBE a 2 minute minor for a charge. No way in hell was that's a 5 and a game.

Edited March 11, 2011 by Bring Back The Bruise Bros

[Guest Shoreline]

There was nothing wrong with that hit.

I don't like the direction the league and these annoying refs are headed. Whatever message they're trying to send.. they're sending all the wrong ones. This isn't the on-ice version of flag football. People get hit. People can't get hit perfectly square, perfectly to their front or side, perfectly in the center of their body, which would, at this moment, probably be a 5 minute major and a game misconduct. We're gonna have to accept the fact that some of these hits are not going to be pretty, and some people are going to be hurt. That's what happens in a physical game. Need to stop this newly-founded romanticizing prudishness and nitpicking ticky tack s*** surrounding hitting.

Edited March 11, 2011 by Shoreline

[Bring Back The Bruise Bros 1,029]

There was nothing wrong with that hit.

I don't like the direction the league and these annoying refs are headed.

It's getting to the point where if the head is touched, there is a penalty called, no questions asked.

[Seraph 240]

Things that were wrong with Lessard's hit:

It was charging in that he took multiple strides gearing up for the hit.

It was elbowing, as he led with his elbow and that was the initial contact point.

It was a head-shot in that he hit the player in the head as the principal point of contact.

Lessard should be happy if that game is the only one.

I agree with a potential charge. His last stride was late but it was also necessary to get him properly situated. He went way out of his way to set up the hit, though that wouldn't justify a charge.

I don't see the elbow or contact to the head. He seems to go right into his chest and his neck doesn't move, which would suggest contact to the head.

[dallas27 7]

Hit was no different than Kronwall's hit on Havlat imo. On a sidenote; I wouldn't be surprised if Kronwall is suspended for a hit in the future

[Konnan511 1,736]

Hit was no different than Kronwall's hit on Havlat imo. On a sidenote; I wouldn't be surprised if Kronwall is suspended for a hit in the future

Kronwall's hit was north to south, this was west to north.

That said, from the few of the refs in real time, I can easily see the charging and the hit to the head, but all in all, looked like a good hit. The guy's teammate who was standing next to him should have communicated better.

[BigWillieStyle 662]

I can see in the very near future, that uniforms will include skirts with them.

[toby91_ca 620]

It actually looks like a bit of a charge, but that would only be 2 minutes. In full speed, it also looks like an eblow to the head and the video attached doesn't really show otherwise.

I have no problem with the call and if replays show that it was an elbow to the head, then he should be suspended. If the replay shows otherwise, no further action. I've got no problem with that. Wrong calls are made on the time, not sure why people think this means hitting is gone.

Also, what are these 10 other examples of guys getting thrown out of the game for clean hits? I know of one of the top of my head and that was Letang earlier in the year. It was an awesome hit, but the other player's helmet flew off and it looked like a head shot at full speed. When you look at the replay, it was shoulder to shoulder...no question, there was actually zero contact with the head. But you can understand why the ref would make the wrong call at full speed.

[Guest Howard He Do It?!]

^This.

Saying this is the end of htting is a huge overreaction.

Well, it is jollymania.

Look at the positioning of the ref when he made the call. He is in front of the play directly in line with the two players. From his angle it looks like an elbow with the principal point of contact being the head. The ref has to call what he sees, even if the angle is deceiving.

Also, these commentators suck. Hockey is under attack from all sides? My ears are under attack from the s*** that is coming from their mouths.

[uk_redwing 495]

Last season, that would have just been considered a highlight reel hit.

Guys like Matt Cooke have given big hits a bad reputation and it sucks. I agree with what someone said about Kronwall. If he throws one of his huge hits he's gonna easily be called for 5 and a game at this rate.

Whatever happened to keeping your head up? It reminded me a little of Stuart's hit on Umberger, just not as devastating. That was two seasons ago and there was no penalty called (very rightly).

Awful call.

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

Bad call.

[HankthaTank 1,100]

Hit was no different than Kronwall's hit on Havlat imo. On a sidenote; I wouldn't be surprised if Kronwall is suspended for a hit in the future

Sidenote to yours: He has to actually hit someone to get suspended for a hit.

Just....sayin'

[WingsFanInBeanLand 30]

Expect to see Kronwall ejected/suspended sometime. Most likely in the playoffs when he ramps up his hits.

[Electrophile 3,554]

I can see in the very near future, that uniforms will include skirts with them.

This comment was necessary?

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Awful, awful call. The hysteria going on about headshots right now is ruining the game. Hopefully things will settle back down.

Usually when people whine about it becoming the No Hit League it seems like a gross overreaction, but the league is definitely taking some steps in that direction. At the very least they're making the game safer for guys who skate with their head down.

[WorkingOvertime 536]

Bad call. It seems like there have been a lot of ejections this year (two last night between this and Komi's hit). I don't like refs giving ejections unless te play was clearly dirty and dangerous. To me, the ref should have called a two min penalty and let the league review the hit. If a ref is unsure, he should not be ejecting players.

[Wing Across The Pond 196]

Somewhere in his little cave Gary is currently happy because the game of hockey is getting closer and closer to soccer on ice. Well the sweet love he is making to Crosby also helps I'm sure, but this still makes Gary happy

Not even that. Strangely the last few weeks over this side of the Atlantic, soccer has somehow become more aggressive than hockey, with two prominant games involving player-coach altercations. Soccer still sucks though.

Good hit but it honestly seems that not just any old hits are going punished, but more than not hits along the boards are being particularly scrutinised.

[jollymania 162]

It's easy to say it was clean when we have the capability to view it and review it and slow it down and pause it, etc. When you're the ref on the ice, seeing the game going by in one speed, a hit like that from his angle probably looked bad enough to call.

Was it the wrong call to make? Yeah, probably. Does that mean that this hit is now indicative of a league wide policy/conspiracy to end hitting? Hardly.

the end of hitting is a hyperbolic statement, but the reason why this was called was because of the head hit hysteria, not the ref making a typical bad call

[jollymania 162]

It actually looks like a bit of a charge, but that would only be 2 minutes. In full speed, it also looks like an eblow to the head and the video attached doesn't really show otherwise.

I have no problem with the call and if replays show that it was an elbow to the head, then he should be suspended. If the replay shows otherwise, no further action. I've got no problem with that. Wrong calls are made on the time, not sure why people think this means hitting is gone.

Also, what are these 10 other examples of guys getting thrown out of the game for clean hits? I know of one of the top of my head and that was Letang earlier in the year. It was an awesome hit, but the other player's helmet flew off and it looked like a head shot at full speed. When you look at the replay, it was shoulder to shoulder...no question, there was actually zero contact with the head. But you can understand why the ref would make the wrong call at full speed.

and there are more, either they are not coming to my head or they aren't on yt, there are also ones like the Thornton or Paille hits that aren't universally agreed upon as blindisdes