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The Official 2012 NHL Stanely Cup Finals Thread
- Thread starter warwick.hoy
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I can almost guarantee the violence will be in check tonight in Philadelphia. They are on notice, especially this matchup and I almost imagine Bettman will be there personally to watch.
Three Penguins have been suspended. THREE!!! Bylsma's been fined. Lemeiux has publicly said he's embarrassed. Flyers have said they aren't going to follow up.
I think anyone expecting tonight to be Armaggedon is going to be disappointed.
There may be some hugfests, but that will be it. The refs will get involved quickly and not let it get out of hand. They are on notice as well.
Agreed.
I think that both teams have a strong incentive to play a clean game. Pittsburgh was thoroughly humiliated by their own antics in game 3. To the extent that they were trying to find some type of spark to help get them back into the series, it backfired completely, and they learned that that isn't the right way to approach this Flyers team. Given the backlash against them in game 3, I don't think they want to repeat that mistake in game 4, and they'll try to play a clean game. Philadelphia, on the other hand, wants to win the series, and I am certain that Laviolette is sending a strong message to the team that the way to do that is to stay disciplined.
It's going to be an interesting game. If the Flyers can find a way to take an early lead, I think it will break the backs of the Penguins once and for all. If the Pens score first, well, who knows what will happen. There's only so many times the Flyers can mount comebacks.
I like hard-hitting, intense playoff hockey. I don't like head-hunting.
Agreed on this point as well. I wonder if Shanahan realizes that even as he says the words, "we are willing to accept the Neal's assertion that ... he jumped to avoid an unintended collision," the video is clearly showing Neal staring directly at Couturier, and then changing directions to make the hit. What a joke.
I heard a rumor that Lemieux was embarrassed, but nothing publicly stated. Where did you find the Lemieux story?
-Mike
-Mike
Well, it's pretty consistent with Shanahan's inconsistency :|
I don't think Mario publicly said anything. That embarrassed thing was word of mouth, which is probably true all things considered. Mario hardly ever talks to the media, and I think people expect him to because of who he is. What other owners address the media though? Seems like it would be Shero's job, if anyone's, to make a public statement on what happened.
I don't think Mario publicly said anything. That embarrassed thing was word of mouth, which is probably true all things considered. Mario hardly ever talks to the media, and I think people expect him to because of who he is. What other owners address the media though? Seems like it would be Shero's job, if anyone's, to make a public statement on what happened.
I'm a Coyotes fan and I have to agree with everybody else that the hit that Torres put on Hossa was way dirty, and he should be suspended for several games. Not a hockey play at all.
The Flyers/Pens game should be really interesting. Hopefully it is as intense as game 3 without all of the thuggery and goon stuff. It might be one of the best rivalries is hockey right now...
The Flyers/Pens game should be really interesting. Hopefully it is as intense as game 3 without all of the thuggery and goon stuff. It might be one of the best rivalries is hockey right now...
Agreed, and the thing that makes it really sad is that he could just as easily--perhaps even more easily--made it a hard but clean hit by staying on his skates and making contact with Hossa's chest rather than jumping and targeting his head.
I love the intensity, just wish guys used it in positive ways instead of headhunting and cheap shots. be a man, face to face and legal. I was also sad to see hossa taken off last night,the only difference to me between that hit and neils was hossa got hurt. With all that said, I'll never walk away from hockey, but agree this stuff needs to be fixed before someone dies out there. I personally think the game tonight will still be pretty rough, the suspensions haven't been bad enough to make these guys take things serious. As far as the refs are concerned,i blame them for alot of this, botched calls and not controlling the game with ejections and penalties have allowed it to get out of control.
A) I've lost count of the number of come from behind victories Philadelphia has mounted this season. UNREAL!
B) Agree on the hard-hitting but no head-hunting. No reason for the head-hunting. I do like me a good well placed hip check though!
C) Yes, a complete JOKE!
This is a very good point, if Torres would have stayed on his skates and drove through Hossa, it would have been just as big (if not bigger) of a hit as what actually happened. Plus, he wouldn't be facing suspension...
Febs said:
Same here on both counts. I really hope we get that tonight, and a 1-0 Pens win.
Some comments I read away from here said Neal is better off being suspended for tonights game since Philly would have been out to "even the score" with him had he been playing. I think this is true. What do you Flyer guys think? If Neal was playing, would Philly come after him for payback? Will they still if the Pens win tonight and force a game five?
-Mike
You know what's the most disappointing part of hockey fans getting together to discuss the games, especially in the playoffs? The discussions are rarely dominated by talk of the hockey. They always turn into a debate over who's dirty, who isn't, and first & foremost, suspensions. It's so frustrating, b/c you'd think nothing ever happened on the ice except the mayhem. Like, whatever.
You're right, I can't find anything directly quoting Lemeuix. Too bad he doesn't talk that much to the media. Would be fun to hear his comments on last year's letter to Bettman calling for teams to get fined per length of player's suspensions right about now.
BTW, Snyder is fairly vocal with the media in Philly.
Surprisingly neither Shero nor Holmgen have said much about this series. It's all been kept to the coach level and no higher. That's been entertaining enough.
I really don't think so. I think that after Neal's hit on Couturier on Sunday, Laviolette sent a pretty clear message by putting a scoring line out on the ice for the faceoff, especially considering that the Flyers had a comfortable lead at that point (if there is any such thing as a comfortable lead in this series). All the comments I've seen from various different Flyers players in the past couple of days tell me that they are focused on winning the game, not exacting revenge for anything that happened Sunday.
To be honest I don't think that any member of the Flyers would go after Neal. If they had the chance to lay a clean hit on him in the corner, they definitely would. But I think that the Flyers just want to sweep the Pens. That would be the ultimate form of payback imo
MJ5150 said:
It's hard to tell when emotions get involved. I've done stuff in the past that wasn't the best thing to do on the ice out of frustration or anger. The moment after I felt really bad. I broke a guys arm with a slash,i was ejected. Me and my dad went to the hospital with his parents. I said sorry a hundred times that night and after that I was alot better at controlling myself. He was fine after a while but it was so stupid. I was 18, he cross checked me the shift before and we had been fighting in the crease all night. It just kept building. I hope the game tonight is a good one with legal actions.
Here's an example of what I'm talking about:
This is a quote from the Invalid Link Removed of all people, who is probably the least disciplined player on the Flyers' team.
This is a quote from the Invalid Link Removed of all people, who is probably the least disciplined player on the Flyers' team.
mkandolf said:
He sure didn't miss his chance to speak publicly when his Pens got pummelled on Long Island though did he? Interestingly, not a word about Sunday. He should be embarrassed, that's a given. Heck, I'M embarrassed. Some members of his team played like dummies.
-Mike
I can't imagine the Flyers would go after Neal. They basically have the series wrapped up, the Pens have embarrassed themselves, no real injuries came from his actions, etc. Seems like a perfect opportunity to easily take the high road.
It is not like it is Torres first questionable hit of his career either. Shouldn't he be getting the same extra scrutiny that Brad Marchand gets from the league office by now.
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