The slapper was cheeky and historically it would merit a reaction but this isn’t your grandpa’s NHL anymore, so for entertainment value alone I approve of the shot and cringe at Reilly’s reaction. It’s bulletin board material though and he will be targeted the next time the teams meet.
My take on this whole thing is it's a lot of nothing. The slapshot was just fun entertainment more than anything. I'm sure the Sens needed all the celebration they could after a pretty rough season. Reilly went after him with a supposed "cross check" that was pretty half assed. Maybe a two game suspension to show they want guys to be responsible with their stick, but aside from that it wasn't a crazy cross check to the head as we've seen in the past with the full force. Anderson's 4 games was a mistake. No need for another unnecessary suspension mistake. 2 games max.
How does one know if it is a penalty-worthy in real time? The refs don't even know. Players sometimes get suspended later for plays the ref never called a penalty on.
Please name all the instances where empty net goals are penalties…
OK perfect, glad we cleared that up.
For everything else, perhaps there’s… a solution… something that could be avoided entirely to ensure you don’t jump guys who don’t “deserve” it. No idea what it could be.
I'm fine with Reilly sending a message but a cross check to the head was not necessary. Rough the guy up, cross check him in the ribs, face wash, whatever.
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I got curious about the Flames-Ducks game from 2015 that GirlySports posted earlier and what the penalties were from it.
It doesn't relate to the game yesterday because Rielly's response was much more extreme than anything the Flames did in that game, but I spent a lot of time typing this up, so I spoilered it for anyone who isn't interested.
There was no supplemental discipline for anyone involved.
A misconduct is basically a catch-all penalty for bad behaviour, so it's possible Kesler did something in the scrum to warrant the additional penalty, but I suspect it was because of shooting the puck after the buzzer. I'm sure I've seen players get similar penalties for the same thing.
Checking the NHL Rule Book for Misconducts:
That creates a kind of circular logic, where if you do something knowing it is likely to draw a certain reaction from the other team, you should get a Misconduct when it draws that reaction. Throughout NHL history, showboating on an empty net has led to a specific reaction from the other team. Even though it's not specifically against the rules, because showboating on a empty net should be expected to lead to the other team taking a penalty against you, it essentially makes it against the rules.
I'd say that spraying the opposing goalie with snow falls under the same umbrella. It's rare to see someone get a penalty for it, but if the ref wants to get things under control, it's their discretion.
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BTW, here are the GT and PGT for that game. Not a lot of sympathy for Kesler:
I’m not sure hypocrites really applies if your thinking evolves over the course of 8 years.
I mean… damn, you’d hope it would. That’s 10%+ of most peoples’ lives.
Especially as the two plays are not the same. At all. What Kesler did is by-the-book unsportsmanlike conduct and a penalty. A slapshot at an open goal during the course of play is not a penalty by any definition and never will be (as it shouldn't).
I must have missed when the Flames crosschecked Kesler in the head though...there was a shoulder to shoulder hit and a scrum with punches
If that is what happened last night this thread wouldn't exist, not to mention 8 years ago...Anyway he is getting 6 games IMO. All is well that ends well
10 pages later I stand by my this site is showing its age. 2024 and so many posts read like it's 2003 still.
Why is hockey culture these days being callanged well.. because hockey culture is the problem and needs to be fixed. And I say this playing AAA hockey in the 90s
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Invested and emotional sports fans thinking one thing immediately after a loss does not mean they are wrong to think something different when they neutral and rational.
This is not exactly Bill Cosby levels of hypocrisy here (which I'm sure we can all agree was the worst thing)
There's no rules on how an empty net goal is scored. A slap shot, a 360 degree spin shot followed by a dive into the crowd. Bouncing the puck on your nose while making seal noise.
But there are rules against going after people after a goal is scored, we saw that with Dale Hunter, there are rules against jumping a guy like that.
What saved Reilly is his general incompetence. He went for a shot at the head and ended up looking like a dofus.
But he has to pay a price and be an example. The NHL doesn't want something like this to be common place.
He's been called to an inperson meeting, I expect 5 games.
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