UPD: Kevin Kurz: Bennett won't receive any supplemental discipline for hit on Simek

[PepsiFree]

I didn’t like Dumba’s hit because it was on a Flames’ player. I LOVED Bennett’s hit because it was on a Sharks’ player.

Why pretend. I like when our boys light other teams up.

[EldrickOnIce]

With Rittich playing, we don't have to wail and moan about giving up 5, low save%, or needing to score 8 to win. Right?

Oops wrong thread

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

With Rittich playing, we don't have to wail and moan about giving up 5, low save%, or needing to score 8 to win. Right?

No because three of them weren't so weak a peewee goalie would have had em'

Flames gave up a ton yet created a ton...one of those games. Actually Rittich made some ten bellers

[Kasi]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

With Rittich playing, we don't have to wail and moan about giving up 5, low save%, or needing to score 8 to win. Right?

Nope. But we all know if Smith was in and let in the same goals there would have been fifty posts in the PGT about him.

That being said it sounds like Rittich tweaked his knee in some way? I expect Smith to be in there for Detroit and Rittich for Boston.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by stone hands

Blowing a guy up in a 3 goal game with a minute left on a guy who didnt do anything to bennett except wear a green jersey is a pretty chicken shirt move if you ask me. I don't care what the goalie did

*edit*
If you want retribution then drive the net and take Dell's head off

Clean hits to the chest are 'blowing a guy up' now?

It was a physical game, and tempers were raised on both sides. So everybody knew - or should have known - that the game would be played until the final buzzer.

[Racki]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

It was a physical game, and tempers were raised on both sides. So everybody knew - or should have known - that the game would be played until the final buzzer.

Exactly right. This wasn't a three goal game where both teams were just playing out the string. There was just a yard sale at the other end and multiple players had been ejected. Some level of alertness was necessary on both sides.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Good luck with that.

That tired old song and dance is as old as the game itself i think.

Every fan base of every sport are unable or unwilling to understand that the narrow view they see in regards to their team, is applicable to all fans of every team.

Even last night in an 8 goal outburst that had the home team winning in a walk, there was a claim of the "NHL doesn't want Calgary to lead the division" or something ridiculous along those lines, therefore the officials have been instructed to not let that happen i guess. Its all so dumb and ill thought out.

I mean....why would the league care one way or another who is leading a division half way through a season? A league that, oh yeah, the owners of this team are a part of! So ownership is spending to the cap....so they can conspire with others to make sure they lose?

It is just so absurd.

I don't think there is a conspiracy.

But there is a wheel that they spin to decide what the supplemental discipline will be. Really inconsistent most times.

[MisterJoji]

Originally Posted by stone hands

I didn't like the hit in context

Nothing wrong with the mechanics of thr hit itself, but laying a dude out like that in a 3 goal game with not that much time left is something I was really not okay with when it happened to backlund and I'm not okay with a flame Doing it either

But context is exactly why officiating has been terrible. If you seen an infraction, call it. Don’t just ignore it because the guilty team is down 5-0. Context is what ref’s call “managing the game.” See a penalty and call it regardless of the scoreboard. Had the refs called the Dell slash I very highly doubt Bennett would’ve been looking for some retribution.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by stone hands

Blowing a guy up in a 3 goal game with a minute left on a guy who didnt do anything to bennett except wear a green jersey is a pretty chicken shirt move if you ask me. I don't care what the goalie did

*edit*
If you want retribution then drive the net and take Dell's head off

The thing is, it wasn't just Dell. It was Kane being the baddest man on the planet when he thought he had a chance to sucker punch a prone Tkachuk. It was Karlsson hacking away at Gaudreau repeatedly. It was the Sharks clearly being angry and frustrated that we took them to the woodshed, getting dirty, and the officials doing not a damn thing about it.

So Bennett saw an opportunity to send a message and took it. You can argue it was unnecessary from a hockey perspective, and I'll agree. But sometimes messages have to be sent that go beyond the immediate context of the score. And if Simek has a problem with that, he can take it up with his teammates. They're the reason he got crushed.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by zarrell

Replace Bennett with Dell, hit with spear, 22 seconds to 13 minutes, and 3 goal lead to 4 goal lead. Dell's spear should have been 5 and a game. Refs didn't call it so a suspension should be coming. This is infuriating.

I agree. Dell should have been assessed a penalty and likely supplemental discipline. The fact that this was missed by four zebras was frustrating and greatly increased the tension between the two teams.

Originally Posted by Fire

I am actually embarrassed for you, such a bad take.

Hits should be suspended depending on the time of the game and the lead? Ridiculous. I didn't like the Dumba hit on Backlund but it was clean.

That is why the NHL has instituted specific rules for things that happen late in the game, which the Flames have been fined and a player suspended for already this season. I'm kind of embarrassed for you for not knowing these types of rules are in place and the officials have the latitude to enforce. Hence Bennett getting a match penalty for his actions.

If the Sharks weren't running around slashing, cross-checking and spearing like losers in the 3rd period I wouldn't have liked the Bennett hit either, but they were asking for it.

Don't disagree. The Sharks got off lightly for much of the third, and that was why I made comment the referees lost control of the game. The Sharks should have been in the box much more than they were, and the referees allowed the frustration on both sides to boil over. Piss poor officiating.

Weird that none of the no-hit guys are vilifying the stick work? Apparently being illegally hit by a stick is just a normal hockey play but a clean hockey hit should now be suspend-able.

You're whining to the wrong guy. I'm very much a pro-hitting guy. I hate seeing suspensions for good clean hits during the play when the game is in question. There is a difference here.

I'm glad Bennett didn't suspended, but if Lucic unloads on a Flames player late in a blow out, I hope people maintain the same standard in judgment. This was a borderline hit at a time in the game when the outcome was clearly established and could very easily be construed as a cheap shot. If that was Kane blasting Andersson, the reaction here would be much much different and there would be a lot of people screaming for a lengthy suspension for a similar action.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

I didn’t like Dumba’s hit because it was on a Flames’ player. I LOVED Bennett’s hit because it was on a Sharks’ player.

Why pretend. I like when our boys light other teams up.

I didn't think the Dumba hit was that bad as I recall feeling that Giordano would get the only suspension out of that game. I don't think the Bennett hit was that bad either. It's never pretty when a player with his head down gets rocked by a clean hit but if you take plays like this away then you pretty well have to start taking all hits out of the game and go non-contact.

[81MC]

I really doubt most of the reasonable people here would be ‘screaming for a lengthy suspension’. Believe it or not, som can look objectively at hockey plays. Taking issue with this hit because of the game situation is silly.

[ST20]

I personally would love the hit if the game wasn't out of reach with less than a minute left because I think you need that kind of toughness to win in the playoffs. However, given the circumstances of the game (I'm talking score and time), there is a respect and understanding between players that I think Sam violated which is why I do not like the hit.

People on this thread need to stop acting like those who didn't like the hit condone the play that lead up to it and stop using the excuse of refs letting the game get out of the hand or the sharks did it first! We are taught at a very young age that "they started it" excuse doesn't work in life or in sport. It's about who gets caught and Sam jeopardized his money, playing time and future retribution against our players by throwing that hit.

That being said, I love his toughness it just needs to be more controlled.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Really? Listen to the whining that still continues over Dumba's hit on Backlund.

[868904]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

The screenshot on the youtube looks damning, but the video tells a different story, as the ref starts skating up ice at the same instant as the spear (ergo his eyes were likely looking more up ice). Maybe he caught something in periphery vision (though by his angle he may not have actually seen Dell's action), but to say he saw it clearly and did nothing contradicts both Occam's and Hanlon's razors.

All four zebras missing it is pretty shocking, but I can see how it might be possible that they didn't see the stick work and assumed it was a leg out trip (which based on Dell's position, needs to be an interference penalty).


For me, this comes back to the need for a video official in radio contact (like rugby) with the on-ice officials, mostly looking at a few things:
- puck across the line (shots the ring in/out quickly)
- blatant unsportsmanlike conduct behind the play
- puck over the glass penalties (as an aside, I still don't see any reason this should be any different than icing)
- expediting the video review/challenge process

They should have a black and white ruling within 30 seconds on the first three items. The clock could start ticking on other video reviews a lot faster, and if there isn't a clear resolution in 90 seconds, call on the ice stands.

It's an extra job for officials - the same refs that ref a game on Tuesday could be the video ref on Wednesday. They're all on the same team doing the same job, it's not just an NHL suit catching their misses in real-time.

Ok, so give Dell a miscounduct for the punch to Bennett’s head then on their next shift. The officials saw that one right? Bennett had every right to be pissed. He took a slash to the groin and a punch to the face and Dell got nothing for it. What’s he suppose to do? Attack Dell and get a suspension.

And what’s with Dell banging his stick at centre ice during the Tkachuk scrum? If you are so tough, go all the way and fight Ritttich. Was he expecting Rittich to skate to centre ice to fight him? That was Dell’s chance to be a tough guy, and he chose to hide behind rules?

[bluck]

I was at the game last night sitting in the attack zone. You could tell with 12 mins left that this game was going to get chippy due to the missed calls. Hell, the amount of times I saw Karlsson just slash Tkachuk was ridiculous. As a fan, if you can see this happening there is absolutely no excuse that as a player you shouldn't be aware of your surroundings. This hit was all on Simek. Unlike some, I totally believe the keep your head up mentality. This is hockey. If you don't like legal checks even if they are late in the game then do yourself a favour and go watch figure skating.

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by 81MC

I really doubt most of the reasonable people here would be ‘screaming for a lengthy suspension’. Believe it or not, som can look objectively at hockey plays. Taking issue with this hit because of the game situation is silly.

Don't agree with last part.
Game situation is critical component of review, imo.
I'm guessing this is why Byfuglien was fined for slash on Gaudreau, because of game situation.
In this case, it was part of reason for review. And correct decision was made - as others have said, referees game (mis)management the biggest factor.

[KipperFaNaTic]

Finally the NHL is giving us a favorable decision. We were on the short end for giordano, dumba, and byufglien but we got one with Bennett.

[Joborule]

Originally Posted by AC

To be honest, I didn't love that Dumba or Bennett went for big hits late in decided games.

However Bennett was just taking the NHL's ruling on that exact matter to heart. They obviously told the Flames, perhaps even literally, that a big hit late in a game is just as valid as one in the middle of the game.

So in context, both within the game last night as well as the fallout of the Minnesota game, I have no problem with the Bennett hit.

And this is a line that the NHL needs to tow if they want to keep hitting in the game. You gotta allow hits like those if they are legally clean. Doesn't matter the timing of the game. A clean hit, is a clean hit.

I'm pleased with the decision of inaction by the NHL. It's right call otherwise it's a slippery slope.

[CaptainCrunch]

At the end of the day, Bennett could have really murdered an unaware player. But he didn't. He didn't head shot him or jump in the air, we've seen way to many people that have done that.


I don't really mind the play for a couple of key reasons. The refs had lost control of the game completely and had allowed the Sharks to take a lot of Liberties, and this was a way for Bennett to make a point that the Flames can play that game, which sets things up for the next game as a warning.


Second the common reaction from Bennett would have been to run over Dell who instigated this, that would have been a suspension.


Even in this softer hockey world, players have to be aware of their surroundings, Hockey might not be the "Hitting" game that it used to be, but its still a collision sport.