It took less than a minute for Saturday’s game between the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins to get physical, and unfortunately for hockey fans it didn’t stop with clean hits or fighting. Instead, the contest showcased the ugliest side of the NHL game, a side that everybody with any interest in the sport should support abolishing.
And once again, it was an enforcer in the starring role.
It started with a hard check from Pittsburgh defenceman Brooks Orpik on Bruins winger Loui Eriksson. Eriksson was reaching behind his body for a puck coming off the boards and consequently was hunched over; Orpik caught him squarely with a hit.
Orpik closed on Eriksson as the puck approached him; the referee could have called him for interference given that the puck seemed to miss Eriksson's stick just as Orpik lands the hit, but given that it was a last-second bounce that kept this from being a 100 percent legal check, it would be unfair to criticize Orpik too harshly for making the hit (and after all, it was too late for him to abort after the puck slipped past).
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Article written by Jonathan Willis