Quote:
Originally Posted by btimbit
Hartley did this quite often for the opening faceoff in Colorado and still does it here after goals or when a new period is starting. When the other team expects you to put your 1st line out he's going to put his shutdown line out. So instead Hartley puts out his third or fourth line to get the energy started and stir #### up, and then tries to get the matchup he wants on the fly. Pretty common
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I agree that after a goal, it's a very common occurrence. But for the opening draw? I just went back and looked at the starting lines back to the start of December, and not once has Hartley started the fourth line. It's been the Hudler line for the past few weeks, and always a combination of Hudler, Cammy, Stempniak, Backlund to start the games.
Again, I don't have a problem with what Hartley did, but trying to say he wasn't trying to start something (especially after the McGratton incident last time) is foolish. As others have said, he was baiting Torts, and he bit, hook, line and sinker. But Bobbo is still going to eat a $10k bill for it.