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7 Comments (5 conversations)
David Moore
Walks like a duck. Talks like duck. Quacks like a duck. Yes, it was a head hit.
guadzilla
It was a clean hit. Hard? Yes. Predatory? Possibly. He coasted in and threw his shoulder into Poehling’s body – it wasn’t even a charge. Poehling was, unfortunately, looking down and not braced for the hit, which made it worse.
Erik Hilliard
Definitely predatory… If you look at that play, there is no need for that hit. It’s not good defense considering Poehling had just shot the puck. Definitely a “defenseless receiver” type penalty that the NHL might want to add considering they have tried to drive out these types of hits. That the NHL is doing a hearing with him seems to state they have reconsidered from last night.
guadzilla
Well, the NHL agrees it was a dirty hit, so i was wrong. It did seem to me that he was going for the body and any impact to the head was due to Poehls being bent over.
Am glad that they are taking steps to remove these sort of hits – i do miss the fact that the great open ice hit of old is a nearly-extinct part of hockey, but in the end, hockey – and the players playing it – are better served if hits that cause head injuries are avoided.
pete
Pre-Meditated Head shot that knocks out player– No call
Slashing penalty that led directly to an Islanders Goal –No call
Ticky-Tack call on Farabee in order to protect the dirty player
No wonder Flyer fans are outraged (any team’s fans)
Sheila Bury
Charlie – I really like these 10 observations recaps for Flyers games!
DA-FlyersMan
Some people out there aren’t analyzing the legality of the hit on Poehling properly. The rule states that a hit is illegal if the “main” point of contact is the head, not the “initial” point of contact. Even if Tsyplakov’s shoulder touched Poehling’s shoulder prior to the head, the contact was glancing at best and the main brunt of the hit was absorbed by Poehling’s head and neck. There absolutely should have been a penalty on the play and I expect the league office to at least level a fine against Tsyplakov.
Having said that, it’s completely unacceptable for the officials to have reviewed the play on video review and decided that there was no penalty at all. It was clear and obvious. I hope the NHL has a way to discipline officials who make egregious calls or non-calls because that was amateurish at best.