[DazzlinDino]

Originally Posted by Cali Flames Fan

I know we hate the Canucks, and I know they have a bad reputation, but to say that a player was faking an injury when he leaves the game and doesn't return is kind of despicable. Player health and safety should always be of highest concern when watching any sport, otherwise they are just gladiators who amuse us with their pain and suffering. Take a second to look in the mirror when you accuse someone of embellishment when they are obviously seriously injured. Head injuries are no joke and if you look at what's going on in the NFL right now you will realize that more prevention should be in place and more care should be taken by players on the ice for their fellow players.

Now let's look at this incident briefly. McGrattan makes a big hit into the boards and raises his arms as he does so. His hands, in passing, appear to knock Alberts' head into the glass, making the massive hit even worse IMO. They called it an elbowing major, and in the quick flash I could see why they would say that, but in retrospect it wasn't an elbow. You could make the case for charging, or maybe even boarding if you were looking hard enough, but quite frankly the referees decided to toss him based on the violence of the hit, not how it occurred. Probably the wrong call, but I'm ok with referees responding to violent injuries like that with a wrong call now and again, if for no other reason than to simply protect the players and keep the violence at a minimum.

It was, however, simply an unfortunate hit that falls within the rules of the game as they stand. IMHO, there should be no suspension as he already received the appropriate (if not too harsh) punishment in the game.

But no, he did not fake an injury, and he surely did not fake being knocked out. If you believe that you need to stop watching hockey for a while and hang out in an emergency room and see what happens to people with concussions. It's not a joke and I don't think any player would fake a concussion, simply for the sake of getting a bigger penalty, and then sit out the rest of the game to back up up their charade. Come on people, where's the empathy?

I don't think too many people are arguing he faked the injury, and no one wants to see a player injured. I'ts entirely possible he hurt himself the way he went down. I suspected, (as far as I can tell) the injury happened when he hit the ice.