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Willie Mitchell Hit on J. Toews


rickshaw

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Posted

Watch the video a couple times and then try to tell me it was the passers fault, Willie Mitchell's fault, Gary Bettman's fault or anyone else on the ice except Toews. The pass didn't help, but Mitchell just stepped out of the penalty box.

 

My biggest complaint of the entire event is the officials blew the whistle & stopped the game when Vancouver had possession of the puck and the Sedin's had a 2 on 0 breakaway.

 

Exactly. That is what Ray Ferraro said last night. I think that is the biggest biggest in this whole situation, more then who's fault is it.... i agree with SteamRoller67. This wasn't the passer's fault. Toews took the puck, with a guy leaving the box, with his head down. Do i expect pro athletes to know where every single person is at all times? No. But he should have known that the guy was going to leave the penalty box any second.

Posted

Exactly. That is what Ray Ferraro said last night. I think that is the biggest biggest in this whole situation, more then who's fault is it.... i agree with SteamRoller67. This wasn't the passer's fault. Toews took the puck, with a guy leaving the box, with his head down. Do i expect pro athletes to know where every single person is at all times? No. But he should have known that the guy was going to leave the penalty box any second.

 

The problem I have with that line of thought is that, ok, he should know a guy's coming out of the box, but he can't know exactly what line that player is going to take. He can't know the exact moment the player's coming out of the box either. If by some chance he does know that (a goalie banging his stick isn't an exact science), he's looking up at the scoreboard, which is just as effective as looking down at the ice when you're moving the puck.

Posted

I am surprised by some of the posts here.

 

Willie Mitchell did exactly what he should. His job is to defend. He glided out of the penatly box, first off. He wasn't striding to make the hit. He managed to meet the puck carrier as the puck got there and didn't hit the player in the head at all. This is a completely perfect check and HAS to be made. If he'd hit the guy in the head, it should be viewed differently.

 

The person who made the pass is really to blame. Hockey is a very fast sport. Toews looked up ice and saw what was there. Of course, a split second later the penalty ended and suddenly there was someone there when there shouldn't have been.

 

But for some to blame Mitchell for doing his job? Please. Beautiful hit. Classy response afterwards saying he hoped Toews was ok.

 

As for having to defend the hit? I don't like it at all. You should have to defend yourself if a hit is dirty. If someone Claude Lemieux's you, then retribution should be sought. But last night, the Canucks were denied a 2 man breakaway because someone had to jump Mitchell for doing his job. That's not right.

 

The hit in the Montreal game I didn't like. The hit at the beginning of the Sabres/Panthers game by Rivet, I didn't like. (BTW if the ref does his job there, the Sabres are penalized instead of scoring 3 goals in 4 mins)

Posted

I think the fact that he tried to get up and skate away and then stumbled and fell increased the 'shock and awe' effect.. but that was as clean a hit as you will see in that area of the ice.. he looked like a just-delivered calf trying to find his feet, which is just seemed to anger everyone even more

 

And yes, Soupy's hit on Humbug was the first thing I thought of too when I saw that last night - back then the Broad Street idiots jumped all the Sabres players on the ice too.

I don't think that any of us who saw that Soupy hit on Umberger will ever forget it. Reminds me of Campbell's Smoked Umberger Soup avatar that was on here a long time ago.

 

BTW, I don't know if anyone paid close attention, but I noticed in passing that Campbell was on the ice when Toews got hit. It's at the 0.49-0.52 mark on the video.

Posted

I don't think that any of us who saw that Soupy hit on Umberger will ever forget it. Reminds me of Campbell's Smoked Umberger Soup avatar that was on here a long time ago.

 

BTW, I don't know if anyone paid close attention, but I noticed in passing that Campbell was on the ice when Toews got hit. It's at the 0.49-0.52 mark on the video.

yeah I saw that too! Soupy actually helped him back to the bench.. wonder if he was thinking about that hit too!!

Posted

Good Thread!

I have been enjoying the back and forth!

I have to agree w/ Rickshaw.

Even down to the Habs/Thrashers game. I felt that Kozlov intended to hurt Gomer with a dirty hit.

Posted

yeah I saw that too! Soupy actually helped him back to the bench.. wonder if he was thinking about that hit too!!

 

 

Helped Toews back to the bench while everyone else on the ice was grabbing a dance partner. Way to stick up for an (supposedly) aggrieved team mate.

 

I don't know how you take this play out of hockey without redefining the game entirely. Mitchell glided into him, hit him clean, and stripped the puck. It was a damn good hockey play,

Posted

I ask again. What is "distance traveled" in charging? From the penalty box door to the middle of the big logo. Not far enough?

 

And if this hit is so clean, why did the Hawks respond like it was so dirty?

 

Clean hit.

 

 

That that hit needs a response is what's wrong, not the hit.

Oh....and what a buddy pass! That's the guy the team needs to respond to. :beer:

Posted

Helped Toews back to the bench while everyone else on the ice was grabbing a dance partner. Way to stick up for an (supposedly) aggrieved team mate.

 

Isn't the best way to stick up for the well-being of a teammate to actually check on that teammate? I'd much rather see what Campbell did instead of the usual "attack the hitter while he's directly over the injured player" stupidity we see way too often.

 

 

Agree 100% on the Artyukhin hit. It was dirty.

Puck was long gone, Artyukhin drove Niskanen into the boards basically from behind. The suspension is warranted.

 

It has nothing to do with the boards. The actual hit into the boards was tame at best and there was no problem with the timing. It's all about the slew foot. It's one of the few times where the league actually protects its players' heads. That move causes a player to fall head first to the ice, with no way to break the fall. That's the dirty part, not the hit.

Posted

Toews would have been ok had Mitchell not had on his hard shoulder pads. Ban the armor plating and get rid of the instigator rule... Those two rule changes would immediately end the pussification of the NHL. Almost all hits would be clean.

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