Quote:
Originally Posted by GullFoss
Wasn't the contact of the first Tkachuk hit primarily to the head? I'm obviously missing something because no one cares and it's not being talked about. But it looks like a bit of a head shot to me? Someone explain it to me...
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It was a hip/butt to the shoulder, which gave way to the head. I think that there are two important things.
the 1st is that Tkachuk took a stride more then then clean hits usually have. that said, he did turn/ glide into him.
The 2nd point is that Kassian left himself vulnerable. Very similar to when Mangiapane was levelled. When you are carrying the puck your head should not be at another players waste level, because when you get hit, your head will be involved.
The people who don't like the hit 1) believe that Tkachuk was predatory and wanted to hurt Kassian, they will highlight the strides/ questionable positioning choice, which is probably why he was in a hurry to get there in the first place. 2) They believe that even if a player has the puck, in scoring position, that the player is in no way responsible for their own safety.
There is also option 3) they are salty homers, who want some moral high ground after a loss, and what was in every way a predatory and unsafe response.
My take is that Tkachuk made a defensive gamble, left his post to make a play on a player moving into scoring position. Moved to hit the body first by backing his hip/butt into him, but was unable to avoid all head contact because Kassian was hunched over, focused on the puck and unwilling/able to protect himself.
Was the play borderline? Yes. But at what point do players need to take responsibility for their own safety? I don't have the answer to that.