The Official 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

[DrJones]

Re: The Official 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

I counted 3 blatant Canucks dives last night. They don't dive all that much during the regular season (honest!), yet that seems to be their go-to move when facing playoff pressure. Very annoying.

[Stu]

Re: The Official 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

CapGeek @capgeek
#NHL Shea Weber fined $2,500 from his $7.5m salary — applying the same ratio to someone making $50,000, that's $16.

[pietasterp]

Re: The Official 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

CapGeek @capgeek
#NHL Shea Weber fined $2,500 from his $7.5m salary — applying the same ratio to someone making $50,000, that's $16.

Ouch! Better hold off on ordering that side of chili fries at lunch...

[pietasterp]

Re: The Official 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

Nobody cares about player safety except media and some fans. Sad but true.

Very true. I think the league has made it abundantly clear with their totally arbitrary justice system that safety is way down on their list of priorities.

[DrJones]

Re: The Official 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

Very true. I think the league has made it abundantly clear with their totally arbitrary justice system that safety is way down on their list of priorities.

To be fair to Shanahan, I think he came into the job legitimately wanting to improve player safety and set consistent discipline guidelines. But neither the owners nor the players want any part of it. The only way to get GMs/owners fully on board is to no longer provide teams with financial or cap relief in case of long term injuries.

[SidVish]

Re: The Official 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

For sure. I want to be clear that I am not in favor of "street justice" or vigilantism in the game (or anywhere else for that matter), but if something violent happens in game 2 - or future games - the league will have no one to blame but themselves. If a team feels like they can't get a fair shake, or if they're being roughed up illegally and the league office responds with a collective shrug of the shoulders, at some point - as we have often seen - they will take matters into their own hands....

I wouldn't be surprised one bit if Detroit takes a run at a Nashville player in game 2. It's the mess the NHL has created.

I mean Weber assaulted Zetts and nothing is done about it. This crap gets on my nerves.

[mgoblue]

Re: The Official 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

To be fair to Shanahan, I think he came into the job legitimately wanting to improve player safety and set consistent discipline guidelines. But neither the owners nor the players want any part of it. The only way to get GMs/owners fully on board is to no longer provide teams with financial or cap relief in case of long term injuries.

Yeah, I agree with you. Shanny's done the best with what he has available to him.

I still don't know how Weber didn't get suspended one game, that was blatantly not even a part of the game (like a hit or something)...

Sad that if it was a less marquee player he'd probably be sitting out the rest of the series or at least a game.

[ImTellinTim]

Re: The Official 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

Wait, wait. When did Zetterberg become chopped liver? The guy is one of the better established players in the league. Not that it should ever matter, but I've now seen people say what if it was Crosby getting hit, and what if it was a lesser player than Weber committing the act.

Did everyone just become comfortable with Zets playing incredibly well all the time and not being flashy about it?

The funny thing about this is that Weber now gives Detroit some incentive when they should have been a little demoralized after a Game 1 loss. I hope this lights a fire under Zetterberg's *** and he and his team dispatch the Preds.

Also, this made me laugh:

Greg Wyshynski <S>@</S>wyshynski

Zetterberg says helmet was cracked on Weber play, confirming <S>#</S>RedWings have no idea how to feign outrage for suspensions. <S>#</S>1DayLate

[Psyblast]

Re: The Official 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

I wouldn't be surprised one bit if Detroit takes a run at a Nashville player in game 2. It's the mess the NHL has created.

I mean Weber assaulted Zetts and nothing is done about it. This crap gets on my nerves.

Can't remember the last time I saw the Wings try to get payback for a dirty hit. Maybe Aaron Downie when Ian Laperriere injured Lidstrom in 2008?

[DrJones]

Re: The Official 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

Wait, wait. When did Zetterberg become chopped liver? The guy is one of the better established players in the league. Not that it should ever matter, but I've now seen people say what if it was Crosby getting hit, and what if it was a lesser player than Weber committing the act.

Did everyone just become comfortable with Zets playing incredibly well all the time and not being flashy about it?

I think the implication was that if Crosby had been hit in such a manner, he'd've likely been concussed, thus a harsher penalty? I dunno. I haven't seen any evidence to suggest that the league protects Crosby physically.

[goh]

Re: The Official 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

I didn't even see what happened to him.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/v9vhHRRJqbg?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[ImTellinTim]

Re: The Official 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

I think the implication was that if Crosby had been hit in such a manner, he'd've likely been concussed, thus a harsher penalty? I dunno. I haven't seen any evidence to suggest that the league protects Crosby physically.

Ah, you could be right about that. Good point.

In other news, it has been confirmed that Toews will be playing tonight. Not sure if that was already a given, but I saw something flash across the Twitters about it.

[VanCitySportsGuy]

Re: The Official 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

- The fine on Weber is a joke. I would have given him 5 games. He basically assaulted Zetterberg. If the game was in Montreal, a fan have might called the police , lol.

- The Canucks deserved to lose last night. They took a bunch of dives and were out hit and outplayed.

[pietasterp]

Re: The Official 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

I think the implication was that if Crosby had been hit in such a manner, he'd've likely been concussed, thus a harsher penalty? I dunno. I haven't seen any evidence to suggest that the league protects Crosby physically.

I love Hank, and he's been my favorite player for a number of years. I think he's one of the top skill C/F's in the league, very responsible defensively, and widely considered one of the best. My point in suggesting had it been Crosby it might have been a more severe penalty is that given his history of concussions and the sensitivity regarding his long absences due to said injuries (along with the fact that he's basically the only crossover star in the league and poster-boy for the NHL), the league would almost certainly have reacted more sternly. The fact that it was a guy without a similar head injury history, as well as not a guy the average non-hockey-watching public knows, almost certainly factored into the non-suspension decision.

Seriously, though - does anyone really think that if it were Crosby that had his head slammed WWF-style like George the Animal Steele against the turnbuckle, Weber wouldn't have been suspended? I find that completely impossible to believe.

[jyoung]

Re: The Official 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

How is it that the NHL CBA has it where $2,500 is the maximum fine a player can get?

NFL players, by comparison, routinely get fined $25,000 or even $50,000 for illegal hits.