Honestly, I think sometimes we oversell the “dirty” aspect to some of these infractions when it comes to supplemental discipline. Maybe I’m naive but I honestly don’t think most plays are “vicious” in the sense of making plays with a deliberate and premeditated intent to injure. The game happens fast, and players make decisions in a split second, which can look way more deliberate in slow motion than it was in real life.
But to be honest I also don’t think specific intent is that important anymore. The NHL is trying to clean the game up and make it safer for the players, and there is a new mentality of the onus being on the hitter to avoid making a dangerous play—like a hit to the head, or (in this case) a cross check to the back of the neck on a prone player.
Was it vicious in the sense that Mangiapane wanted to hurt someone? Probably not. Was it reckless and dangerous though? Absolutely. It was a reckless, dangerous and dumb play. It also could have ended up being much worse than it did. Mangiapane is lucky to get one game and even luckier that McCann was not seriously hurt.
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