Other NHL games 2013-2014 season

[MRandall25]

The fight shouldn't have even started in the first place.

[Sam's Drunk Dog]

Downie out with a concussion from his fight. Vinny Lecavalier also hurt.

Flyers are a disgrace. Grass is green. Sky, blue. Water, wet.

Get stomped on the scoreboard then start fights to show how tough you are and get injured. That's the Philly way.

[Sam's Drunk Dog]

Crosby has more points than the Flyers have goals this season.

[shmenguin]

Downie out with a concussion from his fight. Vinny Lecavalier also hurt.

Flyers are a disgrace. Grass is green. Sky, blue. Water, wet.

Get stomped on the scoreboard then start fights to show how tough you are and get injured. That's the Philly way.

After 2012, we lost our high horse privileges. What we did in game 3 was worse than what Philly did.

[Sam's Drunk Dog]

I wasn't involved in that fight and I definitely didn't condone it. The Pens have also done this a few times. The Flyers do this constantly. Bit of a difference there.

[Idoit40fans]

That ref took wayyyyy too long to hop in and stop that fight. Holtby wanted nothing to do with it.

Agreed. He should be suspended along with most of the Flyers. Holtby was getting destroyed and it seemed like the ref was actually just enjoying the entertainment instead of breaking it up when clearly Holtby was helpless. Caps teammates should be ashamed as well for not stepping in immediately when they saw what Emery was doing...you just cannot let your goaltender get beaten to a pulp like that and do nothing about it. Who cares if the ref is waving you away to stay out of it or if you are going to get an automatic suspension...you get involved and protect your goalie.

The league won't do anything substantive in response to this.

So where are all those Pens fans who like to argue goons are useless in this league anymore?...I think not. When teams like the Flyers & Islanders are allowed to operate like this whenever they feel like it you gotta be able to protect your stars. Goons are alive and well in this league.

So how would a guy like Godard help in that situation? A situation that happens once every few years to a small subset of the league. And as I recall, we still got creamed by the isles in that game even though we dressed a goon. I don't really understand what you're saying.

I seem to recall godard himself leaving the bench to breakup a goalie fight. So i guess there is direct evidence that he would have been very helpful tgere.

[DropEmJayBird]

We in the NHL are very concerned about head shots, therefore we must allow rabbit punches as much as possible, so don't interfere in this goalie fight, nor will our officials attempt to break it up. Let em go boys.

[shmenguin]

That ref took wayyyyy too long to hop in and stop that fight. Holtby wanted nothing to do with it.

Agreed. He should be suspended along with most of the Flyers. Holtby was getting destroyed and it seemed like the ref was actually just enjoying the entertainment instead of breaking it up when clearly Holtby was helpless. Caps teammates should be ashamed as well for not stepping in immediately when they saw what Emery was doing...you just cannot let your goaltender get beaten to a pulp like that and do nothing about it. Who cares if the ref is waving you away to stay out of it or if you are going to get an automatic suspension...you get involved and protect your goalie.

The league won't do anything substantive in response to this.

So where are all those Pens fans who like to argue goons are useless in this league anymore?...I think not. When teams like the Flyers & Islanders are allowed to operate like this whenever they feel like it you gotta be able to protect your stars. Goons are alive and well in this league.

So how would a guy like Godard help in that situation? A situation that happens once every few years to a small subset of the league. And as I recall, we still got creamed by the isles in that game even though we dressed a goon. I don't really understand what you're saying.

I seem to recall godard himself leaving the bench to breakup a goalie fight. So i guess there is direct evidence that he would have been very helpful tgere.

Yeah, I get it. Godard was a dubious example. But anyone could have stepped in there - it doesn't require a useless slug. And his presence, despite being a guy that would charge in like that, didn't deter any of the other fights or the multiple cheap shots. So at the end of the night, he didn't accomplish anything significant. And literally nothing that vitale or Adams or glass couldn't do.

[Idoit40fans]

Id have loved adams to do tht. It would make november hockey a lot better.

[penscup]

So how would a guy like Godard help in that situation? A situation that happens once every few years to a small subset of the league. And as I recall, we still got creamed by the isles in that game even though we dressed a goon. I don't really understand what you're saying.

If you are okay with Crosby or Malkin being arbitrarily chosen to have their head bashed in like Emery did to Holtby at any given time with their history of concussions then I don't know how to respond. Godard and his brethren are a necessary deterrent to that happening. I agree that Godard & the Pens in general did not respond properly to the Isles incident -- instead of going after Tavares and roughing him up, Mario attacked the Isles in the media and was ridiculed for doing so and accomplished nothing. As long as the league continues to allow these incidents to occur and go unpunished every team in the league must take the precaution of keeping one or more goons on their squad to protect their teammates from serious injury.

If I were running the Caps I'd bring up my biggest goon from the minors and dress him for the rematch for the express purpose of putting a beatdown on Giroux. That is how this league operates. That is the only way to stop the way Philly & NYI operate. Maybe if things get bad enough the league will finally start to make some changes.

[Pitt87]

IMO, if the NHL wanted to draw a line with fighting, they would suspend Ray Emery for 3 games and that referee for the season.

[shmenguin]

So how would a guy like Godard help in that situation? A situation that happens once every few years to a small subset of the league. And as I recall, we still got creamed by the isles in that game even though we dressed a goon. I don't really understand what you're saying.

If you are okay with Crosby or Malkin being arbitrarily chosen to have their head bashed in like Emery did to Holtby at any given time with their history of concussions then I don't know how to respond. Godard and his brethren are a necessary deterrent to that happening. I agree that Godard & the Pens in general did not respond properly to the Isles incident -- instead of going after Tavares and roughing him up, Mario attacked the Isles in the media and was ridiculed for doing so and accomplished nothing. As long as the league continues to allow these incidents to occur and go unpunished every team in the league must take the precaution of keeping one or more goons on their squad to protect their teammates from serious injury.

If I were running the Caps I'd bring up my biggest goon from the minors and dress him for the rematch for the express purpose of putting a beatdown on Giroux. That is how this league operates. That is the only way to stop the way Philly & NYI operate. Maybe if things get bad enough the league will finally start to make some changes.

I don't believe that goons can prevent anyone from getting roughed up. How many more examples of the contrary do you need?

[offsides]

That was embarrassing for the NHL. It stuff like that .. that makes me ashamed to be a fan of this league sometimes.

I'll second this. Disgusting display by a classless organization that doesn't even know what the word sportsmanship means. If the NHL does nothing, it would be hard to believe the NHL is concerned about player safety at all.

[Shakes]

No suspension. No surprise, really. Garage league.

[MRandall25]

What's sad is that a position player would be suspended for dropping the gloves and wailing on someone who wanted nothing to do with the fight.

[shmenguin]

I don't think so, bertuzzi not withstanding. But that was a sucker punch not a fight. I can't remember a fight like that ever leading to a suspension so I'm not surprised.

[bhaw]

Maybe the NHL figured that making Emery play behind that defense was more punishment than being suspended.

[bhaw]

The Flyers this year are exactly as they deserve: irrelevant, an embarrassment, and a sideshow.

Hard to explain how fitting it is for them to trade for Downie, try to goon it up, and lose him for probably a long time and Vinnie for at least a little while.

I'd love to hear a Pierre dissertation on the leadership of Giroux right now. Bunch of clowns. Sadly, I'm sure their fans are proud of the act they put on. The team is a bunch of cowards who have absolutely quit playing hockey.

[columbia]

Who'd have thought they could miss Richards' leadership?

[bhaw]

Who'd have thought they could miss Richards' leadership?

Philly: where leadership is born.

[MRandall25]

Who'd have thought they could miss Richards' leadership?

Philly: where leadership is born.

... and subsequently traded away.

[Great58]

The Flyers this year are exactly as they deserve: irrelevant, an embarrassment, and a sideshow.

Hard to explain how fitting it is for them to trade for Downie, try to goon it up, and lose him for probably a long time and Vinnie for at least a little while.

I'd love to hear a Pierre dissertation on the leadership of Giroux right now. Bunch of clowns. Sadly, I'm sure their fans are proud of the act they put on. The team is a bunch of cowards who have absolutely quit playing hockey.

Surprisingly, some of the Flyer columnists were opposed to the Downie trade and the direction that it took the team, and the comments in today's Philly papers are pretty opposed to what happened last night and the way the organization is being run. One person said they'd sell their tickets at a loss as long as Berube remains the coach. Sure, the vocal majority will lust for blood at the games, but this is frankly the first time I've seen Flyers fans question their teams perspectives. FWIW.

Personally, I think the NHL should have Holmgren called before the players' safety board for an in-person discussion of what was said by him during the intermission that lead to the 3rd period fiasco. Never going to happen, but I hold him as much to blame as Garth Snow was during the debacle on the Isle.

[pressure=9Pa]

The NHLPA should really make a statement somehow in the off-season. They think they're protecting their union by fighting suspensions, but they'd be better served protecting their membership from each other.

[MRandall25]

Wouldn't Holtby considered an "unwilling combatant"?

[shmenguin]

Wouldn't Holtby considered an "unwilling combatant"?

What's the context there? Is that the criteria for a suspension?