In understanding John Scott’s brutal run on Loui Eriksson Wednesday night, context is critical.
There was a time when Buffalo did not employ people like Scott—a long time, actually. In the six seasons from 2005-11, the Sabres consistently took fewer fighting majors than almost any other team in the league. Suddenly, in 2011-12, that changed, and it's change that persisted into 2012-13 and continued into 2013-14, where the Sabres have the early-season lead with 11 major penalties.
It is not hard to pinpoint what happened.
When Milan Lucic ran Ryan Miller over in November 2011, he crossed a line. While hockey is a physical game, goalies are supposed to be sacrosanct; despite the rationalizations of some, they do not become fair game just because they leave the crease.
“Sending a message” is an overused cliché in hockey, but many a message was sent both by that hit and in the aftermath.
NHL officialdom sent a message. Lucic was given a two-minute minor for charging on the play, and no supplemental discipline was assessed. Then-Sabres coach Lindy Ruff had no d ...
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Article written by Jonathan Willis
John Scott’s Hit on Loui Eriksson: Deterrence at Its Finest
October 24th, 2013 by Jonathan Willis Leave a reply »
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