Did Brandon Prust Take a Dive? What If Prust Had Been the Puncher?

Last night at 15:27 of the second period Jordan Staal sucker punched Brandon Prust with a left hand to the jaw that sent Prust to the ice.  The play resulted in Staal getting hit with a five minute major and a match penalty.  Those events are not really up for debate.  The interpretation of those events certainly seems to be in the aftermath of the action.

Greg Wyshynski at Puck Daddy had the fallout the action.

“The majority opinion is that Prust should have at least been given an Emmy nomination for his performance.”

Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette wrote: "Brandon Prust looked like Glass Joe after taking that punch from Staal. Nice sell job."

On the Rangers side Andrew Gross at Ranger Rants had Prust take on the incident

"It was kind of surprising, it happened quick, he caught me on the sweet spot, i got my bell run," said Prust, who sat out the rest of the second period but played in the third. "It was just more the surprise. I told Rammer (trainer Jim Ramsey) I was ready to go. They checked me over. I think it was all a reaction (by Jordan Staal). I came in and hit a guy (Tyler Kennedy) and he came in and stuck up for him. He threw a punch. I agree with the call (a five-minute match penalty for intent to injure and a game misconduct). Stuff happens on the ice. I'm happy he did, we got a five-minute penalty. Thank you."

Regardless of whether one thinks that Prust embellished the outcome of the punch, it is still a sucker punch since it was clearly an unsuspecting opponent. The fact that Staal was thrown out for "intent to injure" makes whether Prust embellished, took a dive or anything else technically irrelvant to the outcome.  I am sure there are many who will argue that it was only called "intent to injure" because of how Prust went down, but I can only deal with what was called.

The reason Staal was tossed is that he broke Rule 21.1

A match penalty shall be imposed on any player who deliberately attempts to injure or who deliberately injures an opponent in any manner.

I am not saying he intended to injure him, but that is what the referees called him for.  So, what does it all mean?

I am on record last night as saying that I thought Prust embellished the result of the punch from Staal, but based on the call by the refs that does not matter to what happened to Staal.  Yes, I am sure it still matters to many whether or not he embellished in terms of their thoughts on the play, so I stand by my belief that he sold it to some extent.  

I can understand people who do not follow the Rangers having a tough time reconciling how Prust can go toe-to-toe with Deryk Engelland, one of the game’s biggest punchers, without going down and then get dropped by what did not even appear to be a vicious punch by Staal.  The problem with that from my perspective is it disregards the element of surprise and the positioning of the punch, which is what Prust was referring to in his comments.  There is also a long reach for me between embellishing a call and being a diver and I will never believe watching as hard and tough as Brandon Prust plays for this team that he is a diver. 

I do not believe that Staal had malicious intent on the play, nor do I think anyone should think he is a dirty player because he clearly has no record of being one, but it is still a clear violation of the rules that got an appropriate penalty.  What will likely happen is the NHL will rescind the match penalty so they do not have to enforce the mandatory one game suspension.  If the NHL does rescind the match penalty what will likely happen is those who believe Prust took a dive will feel vindicated in their beliefs instead of realizing that it was the squeaky clean record that got him a lighter punishment.

I am left to sit here and wonder what the word around the league would be if the roles were reversed and Prust had been the puncher and Staal the one who ended up falling to the ice.  Somehow I do not buy the notion that there would be calls to rescind the match penalty and calling Staal a diver because it would have been a fighter throwing the punch. Fans in Pittsburgh would be looking for the book to be thrown at Prust, and fans in New York would likely be defending him.  

Hit me with your take.

Marc-Andre Fleury Stikes His Own Pose As Penguins Beat Price's Canadiens (Video)

Well that did not take long. Last week when the Montreal Canadiens beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in a shootout, Canadiens goalie Carey Price decided the best way to celebrate the win was to strike a pose.

Well just six days later Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury would respond in kind by striking a pose back as the Pittsburgh went into Montreal and got to strut out with a 5-2 victory.

You can tell that the move by Price was very much on the Penguins mind for Fleury to do it and it does indicate that there is some bad blood now between the two teams which is always an interesting thing to consider as the NHL season gets closer to the playoffs and potential matchups.  

Now that each have posed at one another the obvious next step is for a dance off.

Sidney Crosby Talks Concussion Timeline, Lack of League Response, Steckel, Return

The Sidney Crosby concussion continues to evolve and the focus of the story seems to be less about how long the Pittsburgh Penguins star and NHL’s best player is going to be out of the lineup and more about everything else that went into the injury itself.  Concussions and trying to prevent them have been a point of conversation for the NHL over the past few seasons including the creation and implementation of Rule 48 to deal with headshots in game action.  It is strange to see that Crosby, whom many deem the most protected player in the game, take two blows to the head with only two minutes of penalties called, no retaliation by his teammates and no suspensions from the league. 

That series of facts was obvious on Crosby’s mind today when he spoke to reporters today about the injury.  He criticizes the NHL for not following through on all their talk about headshots (1:41-2:40 of the video) when he said:

I didn't like them. You talk about headshots and dealing with them, and that's been something that's been a pretty big point of interest from everybody -- GMs and players. When I look at those two hits and when we talk about blindside, that's a big word, unsuspecting player, there's no puck there on both of them and direct hit to the head on both of them. If you go through the criteria, I think they fit all those.

I know it's a fast game. If anybody understands it's a fast game ... I've been hit a thousand times. When you get hit like that, there's nothing you can do. There's no way to protect yourself. Those are things that hopefully they pay more attention to. It's easy saying that, being in this situation; but those are two hits, looking back, that I can't say I should have done something different or had my head down. I wouldn't change anything. [emphasis mine]

In general Crosby is 100% right in those comments that the league has been wildly inconsistent in how they have sought to implement Rule 48 this season where some actions get let go and others of the same exact ilk are hit with varying degrees of punishment. 

In discussing the David Steckel hit/collision from the Winter Classic (video of hit) Crosby reiterates his belief that Steckel could have avoided him if he wanted when he said:

On the Steckel one, it's tough. It's really tough to decide if he meant to or didn't mean to. I feel like he could have gotten out of the way and avoided me. Whether he tried to hurt me, only he knows. I guess we'll never know that, but you still have to be responsible out there. I can carry my stick up around my head and say that I'm protecting myself, but I still have to be responsible for whatever I do with my stick if I end up high-sticking someone.

It's the same thing. In that situation, I don't see anything [and] he sees me there. He sees the whole ice and he doesn't avoid me. I don't think that's responsible on his part. Whether or not he tried to hurt me, only he knows that. But he's got to be the one to try to avoid me in that situation.

This series of comments is likely going to get Crosby criticism especially from those who have an aversion to him already because of the exaggerated example he gives to try and create a metaphorical scenario on the ice and the fact that he did not give Steckel the benefit of the doubt on his intent.  You can say that he did not out and out accuse Steckel but the majority of the time when you lay out a scenario as he did where you say “only he knows” you are going to find many that presume it to be you accusing that person of a dirty play, especially when you then call him irresponsible saying he saw you and did not try to avoid you. 

From listening to Sidney it seems like the concussion was more likely from the collision with Steckel seeing as how he was not feeling “right” even before Hedman boarded him into the glass and probably exacerbated whatever symptoms he was already having.  Why it matters when he originally sustained the concussion is not about whether the Steckel hit was clean or dirty but the fact that the Penguins let him finish the Winter Classic game and play in a gave four days later while possibly having a concussion. Maybe Sidney should be complaining about that as well as the league for not protecting the players because as we have seen in other sport’s many times the league does a better job protecting the players from each other and themselves than the team’s do.

Instead Crosby defending the organization from just that kind of critcism when he said: "No, I mean, looking back, I wouldn't have changed anything we did. It may be easy to say that now, but I didn't have any head and it didn't feel like a concussion."

No offense to Crosby's medical training but that is why team's have professional doctors and trainers on staff to determine those things and maybe the NHL has to go the route of the NFL that any time a player hits his head he has to be concussion tested in order to prevent guys from playing with them until they get severe.  Personally from listening to Sidney today the one week timetable that was laid out seems awfully optimistic and at least on that count Crosby certainly seems to understand the need to wait until he is actually ready to be back to avoid getting another one.

Also I know the media has a job to do and without it I would not have this video to share with you of his comments, but which person thought it was a bright idea to take a guy with a concussion and stick numerous TV cameras and lights in his eyes?

Full Video via Penguins.com

Video: Did Crosby Top Ovie Playing With Dolls Taking on Puck Pyramid?

You can love him, you can hate him, but without question right now Sidney Crosby is the best hockey player in the world and this clip for Reebok shows that in spades.  Last week it was Ovechkin against the Russian dolls in a great display of skill and accuracy, but once again Crosby might have come out on top in their battle.

Watch as Crosby stacks pucks into pyramid formation on the top of the team bench and from approximately 30 feet away and picks off the top two pucks, misses with the third, uses the fourth to blast the rest and most impressively uses his fifth shot to clip one of the pucks as it is rolling down the bench wall.

Personally still cannot stand some of the antics, and the move at the end typifies that, but you cannot deny the sick skill on display here.

Video: Steckel Levels Crosby; Clean, Accidental Hit or Blindside Head Shot?

At the end of the second period of the Winter Classic tonight Capitals forward David Steckel collided with Sidney Crosby sending Crosby down to the ice where he would remain momentarily and would then be looked at on the bench.  The hit has sparked a debate that seems to depend on where you stand on Sidney Crosby in general as to what you thought of the hit.  Those who hate him want to make David Steckel the early favorite for man of the year in 2011 and those who love Crosby want him strung up for being a dirty player.  Before my take, let's watch some video.

Here's the hit from the NBC and CBC views:

NBC:



CBC:




After looking at both videos the NBC one definitely looks worse as from that angle you cannot see what the intent of Steckel was and see Crosby tumble.  On the CBC video, especially the second one it appears that the contact is made as Steckel is actually trying to avoid Crosby and get up the ice to follow the play.  Either way there definitely appears to be some contact between the shoulder pads of Steckel and the head of Crosby on the play, but with his arms down and no intent I do not see the league doing anything about it even though it in actuality is a hit from the blind side.

More amazing to me was that no Penguin really did anything about it after it initially happened as we have seen a lot of retaliation plays in the NHL this season for clean hits on far less important players to the teams involved.

Video: Rupp vs Erskine Throw Haymakers in Classic Fight

Crosby Vs. Ovechkin: Great For TV; Good For The Sport?

There is no denying that Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin are amongst the top couple players in the NHL with Crosby leading the way.  It is also a fact that the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals are among the upper echelon of teams in the league.  Combine that with the fact the NHL is on the verge of negotiating a new TV contract and it was a no brainer to put it's two most highly marketed stars on the ice against one another for their biggest regular season showcase game, the NHL Winter Classic.  The NHL is a business and the higher the ratings this year the bigger the leverage the league has in the next negotiations.  This game will undoubtedly be highly rated television after the endless promotion it has gotten and the added bounce HBO's 24/7 will give to the festivities, so for the business side it should be a clear win for the league. 

What can be asked though is if the non-stop promotion of just two players and their teams by the NHL is good for the sport.  Every night no matter what game you are watching you cannot escape a conversation or a commercial that contains at least one of the two of them.  As I said in certain aspects the promotion of these two has been good for the game and with the upcoming Winter Classic I have no doubt that HBO never signs on to do 24/7 without the match-up and storyline of Crosby vs Ovechkin.  It is that draw not a real rivalry between the Capitals and Penguins which made HBO go out on a limb with its critically acclaimed series, but the sport has to be about more than those two.  Luckily for the most part HBO has done a pretty good job, better than the NHL in showcasing the teams on which these stars play and not just having it be solely about them.

There will be many who will watch the Winter Classic purely because it is Crosby vs Ovechkin and that part of it is good for the NHL in terms of revenue.  On the flip side I believe it is a problem that Winter Classic has become in large part Crosby vs Ovechkin instead of Penguins vs Capitals.  Life in the NHL dictates that no matter what either individual player does on Saturday the game will be decided as much by all the other guys on the ice as those two.  If the NHL wants to change the rules and let them go one-on-one for the two points in the standings then that is a different story, but Ovechkin will not be marking Crosby and vice versa so each will rely on their teammates to slow the other down and give them a chance to work their own magic in getting a win.  I am not saying that these two tremendous athletes are not capable of dominating on any given night or for long stretches as we just saw with Crosby's 25 game point streak, but what got lost in that streak was the tremendous team record and spectacular play of teammates like Marc-Andre Fleury and Kris Letang.   

The reality though is the way the NHL has promoted the game and the league as a whole the articles on Sunday, if the game even happens Saturday with the weather, will not be about the Penguins and the Capitals but a comparison of the two individuals.  Is that good for the sport?

DiPietro Stops Crosby Streak at 25 Games...More Importantly With It End The Mustache?

All the worry this week concerning the Winter Classic has been about whether Mother Nature would rain down on Saturday and cause the game to be potentially postponed until Sunday.  What was never considered even possible is that the New York Islanders and Rick DiPietro of all goaltenders would be the one to stop the scoring streak of Sidney Crosby just one game short of the NHL’s biggest regular season spectacle.  You could see all the marketing and conversation that was being set up to discuss the streak on Saturday during the game, but it was DiPietro and the Islanders who ruined all those plans and ended the streak at 25 games. 

Part of the reason there was little worry that the Islanders and DiPietro would stop the Crosby run was because there is no team that Sidney has victimized more often in his career than the team from Long Island.  In 32 career games against the Islanders coming into the contest he had scored an eye popping 62 points with 18 goals and 44 assists.  Combine that with the fact the Islanders are currently 29^th in the league in points, 28^th in the league in goals against and gave up seven goals to the New York Rangers in their last contest.  If the Crosby’s personal stats against them and the Islanders team stats were not enough mix in Rick DiPietro playing his first game after missing the prior five games with a bad knee and it seemed like a virtual lock for Crosby. 

Love Crosby or hate Crosby the 25-game point streak was an impressive feat and tied him with Wayne Gretzky (1990-91), Bryan Trottier (1981-82), Brett Hull (1991-92) and Bernie Nicholls (1984-85) for the 11th-longest run in NHL history.  During the streak Crosby netted an unbelievable 26 goals and 24 assists for 50 points along the way.

The Penguins certainly tried their best to get Crosby every opportunity to continue it as he would log 26:16 of ice time, but with all the attention he would only account for two shots in the game.  There was an attempt at some shenanigans by the Penguins with 7:01 left in the final period when a penalty shot was called for when an Islanders player covered the puck in his own crease.  Crosby was not on the ice at the time of the play so he was ineligible to be the shooter, but that did not stop the Penguins from trying though they were stopped and Kris Letang would miss the shot.

For good measure DiPietro would stop Crosby in the shootout and while Penguins fans, NHL executives and corporate sponsors were sad for the end of the streak it was the highlight of the year for the Islanders and a reason for Crosby haters to rejoice.  With any luck for viewers of the Winter Classic, especially in HD it will mean the end of that awful “mustache” he has been growing as well because the end of that thing will be even sweeter than the end of the streak itself.  Now we are left to ponder if what DiPietro and the Islanders did might be worse for the NHL and the Winter Classic than the rain Mother Nature could bring on Saturday.

Video: Alex Ovechkin Lays Out Evgeni Malkin With Huge Hit

If the build up to the Winter Classic next week needed anything else it may have gotten something in the first minute of tonight's Washington Capitals vs Pittsburgh Penguins game when Alexander Ovechkin took a direct line at Evegeni Malkin and laid the wood on him.  Ovie showing his team that tonight was not just another game and they had something to prove, but it doesnt count on the scoreboard.

2011 Winter Classic Promo Video

Video: Deryk Engelland Knocks Out Taylor Pyatt With Vicious Right

The Pittsburgh Penguins were up 5-0 early in the third period against the Phoenix Coyotes and lopsided scores like that usually lead to fights because the team getting demolished wants to prove something and tonight was no different.  Oliver Ekman-Larsson would go at Evgeni Malkin’s legs with a crosscheck, and the Penguins would take exception.  Malkin had just missed games with knee issues, and has been hot since being back including a five point effort tonight, so his teammates stood up for him and a scrum ensued.  Out of that scrum would come Deryk Engelland and Taylor Pyatt which is not a good matchup for the Coyotes forward. 

Engelland a known tough guy in the league would show why after Pyatt tried his best to hold, but when it was over the only thing he will be holding tonight is ice on his jaw from where Engelland knocked him out with a right hand.  You see him hit with the right hand at :37 seconds and then in slow motion at 1:21 of the clip.  

You can bet that will be on 24/7 next week.

Pregame: Rangers Look For Third Straight Over Marching Penguins 11/29/2010

In doing some site reviews I have come to the conclusion that between other stories on the site and all the other blogs with pregame thoughts that the pregame stories I have been doing have not been getting read.  In an effort to fix that issue on days when the Rangers have the day off before the game I am going to preview the following night’s game the night before.  So now let’s look at the matchup with the Penguins tomorrow at MSG.

Rangers (14-10-1) at Pittsburgh (15-8-2)

Key Opposing Player: Sidney Crosby (18-22-40)

The Rangers enter the game coming off two straight wins to end their three game trip and will return home to play the Penguins.  It is a very similar scenario to the last time they were going into a matchup with the Pens in that the Rangers had won two in a row and were looking now to prove they could do it against a higher quality opponent.  In the last meeting the Rangers had probably their biggest character game of the year as they overcame numerous bad calls and going from up 1-0 to down 2-1 in a matter of moments late in the game to force OT and win it in the extra action.  The key to that game was Henrik Lundqvist who stood on his head and stole the outcome making 37 saves, many of the spectacular variety.  On the offensive side of the game for the Rangers Brandon Dubinsky was the man as he created both goals with tremendous plays and passes setting up Marc Staal for the tying SHG and Ryan Callahan for the OT winner. As big as that win was it will mean nothing once they drop the puck to start this game.

The Rangers as I said have won two in a row to close their road trip, but the level at which they played will not cut it against the Penguins.  As of now there is no word on if Marian Gaborik will be back in the lineup, and the Rangers certainly could use him, but regardless the Rangers have shown this year they have to play a certain style to win.  When this team does not get in on the forecheck, cycle the puck and play physically they generate little to no offensive threats.  Brandon Dubinsky is going to have to play with that mentality he brought to the game at the end against the Pens where he just refused to let them lose and that they could not stop him.  When he plays with that mentality he can be an elite player, but he does not always have that mindset especially if Gaborik is in the lineup.  I expect Sean Avery to do some things in this one as he has played with more energy the last couple of games, I just worry that because these are the Penguins and they get every possible call that because he is Avery the Rangers will get twice as many calls against them.

New York Rangers at Pittsburgh Penguins 11/15/2010 Pregame Notes Lundqvist In; Boogaard Out

Rangers (9-7-1) at Pittsburgh (9-8-1)

Key Opposing Player: Sidney Crosby (12-15-27)

Lineup:

Frolov- Christensen -Gaborik

Dubinsky-Anisimov-Callahan

Fedotenko-Boyle-Prust

Avery- Stepan -White

Staal - Girardi
Del Zotto - Eminger
Gilroy-Sauer

Lundqvist

Biron

According to the teams twitter feed Henrik will be back as expected and Boogaard will be out with a  sore hand (my hand hurts just watching the punches he threw)

The Rangers coming off two straight wins at home will travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins tonight.  Coming off their best win of the season, statistically at least, the Rangers will take a big step up in terms of the competition level this evening.  The Rangers would love to have saved some of the extra goals from yesterday’s trouncing to use them tonight against the high powered offense of the Penguins.  The club will have to once again mix the fundamental grind it out type hockey with the skill a Gaborik can provide if they are to continue this good stretch.  Because the Rangers just love the rollercoaster they also had to deal internally today with Erik Christensen and his comments about Sean Avery’s role in yesterday’s brawl so instead of the game and fight being a team building thing it turned into a circus.  At least the fallout of Christensen shooting his mouth off was handled out of the press as Christensen should have handled his feelings on Avery’s actions.

The Rangers defense will need to bring their ‘A’ game tonight to deal with all the skill the Penguins can throw at them.  In addition to that it will be up to the forwards to give help not only in transition plays but also against the high potent defense core the Pens have.  Marc Staal for my money has played his best two games on defense the last two including a lot of physicality or Tortorella likes to call it jam yesterday.  Staal will need to continue that tonight along with Girardi if the Rangers are going to give Lundqvist every chance against a potent offense.  I am interested to see if Staal-Girardi gets split depending on if Pittsburgh plays Malkin and Crosby together or not because I would split them and play Staal-Sauer vs one and MDZ-Girardi against the other while putting Staal-Girardi together on the PK.

The opposition, Pittsburgh Penguins, have well-known and much talked about star talent in Crosby, and Malkin, but they go deeper especially in getting offense from their blue-line.  Already this year they have three guys with at least 9 points from defense, lead by Kris Letang’s breakout start of 3G 14A in 18 games.  The Penguin offense lead by Crosby and Malkin are certainly not bashful in shooting the puck averaging 31.1 shots per game so in Henrik’s first game back from illness he can expect to see a lot of rubber.  The reason the Penguins record is not better to start the season has been their struggles in net as Marc Andre-Fleury has been awful though Brent Johnson has been very good early in the year.  Johnson has shown signs of coming back to Earth of late with two bombs in his last three starts.  Everything sets this game up to be a high scoring affair.

The Rangers have been excellent on the road (5-2) this season and Penguins have struggled at home (3-5), so that combination could lead to interesting results tonight. 

Prediction: Rangers win 4-3