I used to get absolutely enraged over the rights and wrongs of a game like this.
The Kane cheapshots, the Sharks whining about a clean hit. It would all drive me crazy. This guy was wrong for doing this! That guy deserved to get that, because he did this! The Oilers game had it, this one had it.
Now I just enjoy it. Its part of hockey. A nightly occurrance in the playoffs. I get why they were upset with the Bennett hit. But I don't have a problem with it. The Dell spear was garbage, but as crazy as it seems I actually believe that the refs didn't see what he actually did.
What is really starting to stick in my craw is the stickwork that goes on. The hacks and whacks on players. Its crazy to me that its just an accepted part of the game. Monahan needed multiple surgeries on his hands, Gaudreau has had fingers broken. Remember when Daymond Langkow was basically playing with 2 broken hands? How do non-fighting players have so many injuries to their hands? It just seems like such a needless part of the game. I wonder if over time there has been a rise in slashing with the crackdown on obstruction. The worst part is that 80% go uncalled. Bennett took a nice lumber chop across the forearms in the crease that went uncalled.
A stick that is slashed out of the hands is an automatic penalty, mainly because its likely easy to see. A chop across the hands or forearms is just part of the game.
In a long playoff run, the physical toll is part of what makes hockey great. The body aches and pains and the players' ability to play through them is all part of the package. But I don't think players should just expect to likely have broken hands as part of that physical toll. Especially when the slashes go uncalled.
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