Ov on Briere

[hockechamp14 0]

At the pace of the game, you can't tell that he's going to get off, ovey just knows to finish his hits. I would be supporting it this weather it was Ovechkin doing this or even Tucker.

So Briere is coming up the boards, and ovechkin has 20 other things on his mind besides, "Hm, is briere making a line change?"

No way Briere could have prevented getting hit there. Note that Ovechkin hit him less than a second after he dumped the puck. Hardly a late hit. Sure he deserved a boarding call and everything else with what happened, but a suspension for that? You have to be kidding.

The bolded says all I need to say concerning your credibility in this discussion.

So you play in the NHL?

[DarkStar50 679]

I think the one of the points he is making is about "finishing your hits". Do you finish your hits when all you can see is the back of the guy's jersey? You don't have to play in the NHL to know the answer to that.

[djinferno 2]

this is just a product of the late hits that are allowed in the NHL, guys get rid of the puck but the guy just takes a free hit on a defenceless player...

[Edge 0]

on www.ovechkinfans.com they have the full video. Watch the replay...

Ovechkin obviously had remorse and realized he made a mistake immediately after the hit. There was absolutely no intent to injure.

I believe he had just done all that work to backcheck and get to Briere, so he took the hit. From behind...yes unfortunately. If Briere had not turned to change though, and Ovechkin hit him at that point shoulder to shoulder there would not have even been a penalty as it was very shortly after the puck left Briere's stick.

I'm a huge fan of both players so I'm not bias in this at all. I don't believe there should have been a suspension.

[JR Boucicaut 3797]

Take the tint-colored glasses off, guys.

[Chadd 916]

plane and simple, this kinda hit has occurred many times this season and no one has been suspended for it. If it had been some other player on the caps we wouldn't even be talking about it. Is it dangerous, YES, is it legal, NO. The NHL has set the standard about hits like this, and to suspended a guy based on sending a message is wrong. Anyone that argues that OV is not suspended because of who he is needs to realize that if he was a below average player, this hit would have never made it to the message board and would have never been a topic of discussion.

What he said.

[notquitedeadyet 13]

Anyone catch the commentary on the hit that was supposed to air during the 2-3 intermission of the Boston/Montreal game on Versus? They listed it as one of the topics of discussion for the break, but I didn't see it.

[LkptTiger 1]

So Briere is coming up the boards, and ovechkin has 20 other things on his mind besides, "Hm, is briere making a line change?"

I don't know about you, but most of the hockey I play is based on instinct. It's very rare that I have two or three things going through my mind at any given time while I'm on the ice, let alone twenty. I'm not sure you can blame this one on "Mental Overload." I would say "Momentary Lapse in Judgement" would be more accurate. I know we've all (or at least the majority of us) have had at least a couple of those in our time playing the game.

Sabre: Are you telling me that you've never been bumped from behind a second or two after you made your play on the puck? Even though it's not supposed to happen, we all know it does - and many of us simply accept it as being a part of the game (just like stick-work and the slew-foot). It's not as if AO teed-off on him; Danny just happened to be very vulnerable when Alex gave him a push. If Briere hadn't gone down the way he did, we wouldn't be talking about this at all.

Illegal hit? Absolutely. Dangerous? You know it. Dirty? Meh...yyyyyyeeah (drawn-out in uncertainty, for those of you that didn't get that). Should he have been suspended? I'm going to say 'no,' but, at the same time, I could see the case to sit him one game or, at most, two.

Granted, AO's career is young yet, but we're not dealing with a guy with a reputation like a, say, Darius Kasperaitis. The guy made a mistake, and there is a fantastic chance that he'll pay for it on the 26th.

The Buffalo players can choose not to forgive and/or forget. As Briere's teammate's, that's their right. We, as fans, however, really don't have a choice - there isn't much that we're going to be able to do about it.

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

Olie Kolzig was on DC101 just now, and he basically said, if he played for Buffalo, he would also have thought the play was dirty.But Briere turned at the last second and Ovy didn't mean to hit the guy like that, wanted shoulder to shoulder but since he turned it happened. Thinks this will go away because Ovy is not that type of player and has no history of doing that. They will try to beat the Caps on the scoreboard and is not a cause for concern the next time they play.

He also thinks retribution will be inevitable with the Thrashers because of the last game (Here is someone elses summary, to save me typing)

Atl brawl. he went to fight Hedberg because he got Hedberg stuck his nose into the fight. He wanted to go after Sutton or Kovalchuck (sp). Elliot mentioned that for Suttons size he plays like a Nun. It's unfortunate the league did not fine Sutton and he has made a go at the Caps a few times.

December 15th in Atlanta. Might be inevitable with what happens. Might not happen that night but will happen. Green made a good play and Sutton felt like he got burned and railroaded Green. Focus is to win and retribution will take care of itself. Be it the next game or 2 years down the road. Time will tell...

[chippa13 1844]

Sabre: Are you telling me that you've never been bumped from behind a second or two after you made your play on the puck? Even though it's not supposed to happen, we all know it does

So now everyone going to the bench after a soft dump should be prepared to get hit from behind?

[PBRyan 0]

Most players do not "soften up" on their legs as much as Briere did immediately following the dump, regardless of their relation to the bench, because you know you may get popped. If Briere was aware that Ovechkin was so close to him, he would've been able to take the hit no problem--probably would not have even knocked him over.

[DarkStar50 679]

Yeah, after a dump-in, most players skate 90 mph to the bench and then hit the brakes hard. Briere was lazy. Also, it is Briere's responsibility to know where everyone is on the ice,especially those guys behind him, so he can brace for the hit from behind and not fall into the boards face first, like a girly-man. The excuses just keep getting better and better. Just the fact that AO made the face and said "oh sh&*^%!" just before Gaustad caught up to him shows he knows what he did was wrong.

[LkptTiger 1]

Just the fact that AO made the face and said "oh sh&*^%!" just before Gaustad caught up to him shows he knows what he did was wrong.

And also that it wasn't the type of play that he intended to make. The guy knows he fucked-up. I'm willing to write this one off as a mistake. If it happens again, I might re-think my position on the guy.

[cbettner66 0]

here is an audio interview with ovechkin asking him about the hit

http://eod.liquidviewer.com/wgr-od/wgr/20061204_Ovechkin.wma

[PBRyan 0]

Yeah, after a dump-in, most players skate 90 mph to the bench and then hit the brakes hard. Briere was lazy. Also, it is Briere's responsibility to know where everyone is on the ice,especially those guys behind him, so he can brace for the hit from behind and not fall into the boards face first, like a girly-man. The excuses just keep getting better and better. Just the fact that AO made the face and said "oh sh&*^%!" just before Gaustad caught up to him shows he knows what he did was wrong.

Uh, if it is not Briere's responsibility to know where other players are on the ice then who's is it, his spotter in the stands? Ruff? Probably doesn't need one though if he's hitting upper 90's consistantly.

Of course the hit was cheap, as it was well within the definition of boarding, but it turned out a lot worse than expected. It's easy to bash guys in situations like these, but stuff like this happens when you are playing a hockey and, atleast to me, this one seems obviously not deliberate. Hitting is imprecise and sometimes minor lapses of judgment under certain circumstances lead to fluke hits(here, boarding). This was not even close to the likes of an intentional hit from behind we've seen are possible in the NHL.

Briere did not expect to get hit (legally or illegally) and Ovechkin did not expect to plant Briere head first into the boards. But given his stature, the fact that he roughed things up with Oveckin just before, and the threat of that same man-child hitting him, I would be a little wary of the players around me, not just Ovechkin.

[willy0314 0]

you guys are insane. you do not hit a player when you can read his numbers on his back. You dont hit someone when you can see the numbers on his back and he stops in front of his bench. And even if you do give him a 'shove', then you don't do it hard enough to mash his face off the boards and take off his helmet. If you do, that is a scummy hit. I don't care what you want to say, if Briere had time to stop in front of his bench, then OV had time to not hit him. Dont say it was Briere's fault for getting crushed from BEHIND, and dont say that OV didn't mean to do it or didn't have time to get out of the way. The guy plays in the NHL, he can react a hell of alot faster then most of us.

[LkptTiger 1]

Umm...biased much?

The "if Briere had time to stop, AO had time to avoid the hit" arguement is flawed. How many of you guys have accidentally lit someone up from behind when he made a quick turn or change in direction along the boards?

IT WAS A LAPSE IN JUDGEMENT. Give the guy a break. We're not dealing with something like McSorely's slash on Brashear or Bert's attack on Moore. It was a bump-from-behind (which, in case you've never played the game at at least a semi-competitve level, happens about 20-30 times a game) that just happened to be at the wrong place and at the wrong time.

Nobody here is "blaming" Briere for anything - there are just questions as to why Danny was totally unprepared for any sort of contact. Personally, before making a play like that, I'll either take a look around to see if anyone is coming, or I'll get a bit closer to the boards. Like it or not, no matter where you are on the ice, there is always a chance that you're going to get hit.

Briere got himself his first NHL hatty last night. Apparently, there are no long-lasting effects of the hit.

As fans, there is nothing that you, or I, or the guy that posts after myself are going to do about it. Like I said: the Buffalo players are in a position where they can do something in response. If they took offense to what happened the other night (undoubtably, it will still be in their minds on the 26th), they can try to even the score. You, on the other hand, are wasting your time, energy and breath on something that was, in the end, a relatively harmless mistake.

It's hockey: even though it's illegal and dangerous, shit like this happens all the time at every level of the sport.

[DarkStar50 679]

There are no love taps in the NHL.

[LkptTiger 1]

There are no love-taps in the game, period.

The fact of the matter is that AO was just trying to let Danny know he was there. It happens - even from behind - a LOT. Most of the time, the recipient has some idea that it's coming. For some reason, on the play-in-question, Briere was oblivious. Was it his fault? Of course not. But, at the same time, I think that same hit goes unnoticed 99% of the time because, the majority of the time, the guy in Danny's position is "braced" for it. Danny wasn't, and now we have to argue about it for the next week or two.

[Cobra2717 0]

Yeah, after a dump-in, most players skate 90 mph to the bench and then hit the brakes hard. Briere was lazy. Also, it is Briere's responsibility to know where everyone is on the ice,especially those guys behind him, so he can brace for the hit from behind and not fall into the boards face first, like a girly-man. The excuses just keep getting better and better. Just the fact that AO made the face and said "oh sh&*^%!" just before Gaustad caught up to him shows he knows what he did was wrong.

Touche, apparently i read waaaaaay too fast. durrrr.

[LkptTiger 1]

Um, he was being sarcastic.

[Cobra2717 0]

reading>me.

[DarkStar50 679]

Theo,

If you're going to man up out there, at least go face-to-face. Otherwise, if we have a Northeast MSH game, I'll just blast you from behind and say Oops, sorry. JK, buddy.

Franzen had his head down when Mitchell skated into him from in front. Williams had his head down on the wrap around when Torres delivered the hit from in front. Regher put the front of his shoulder into Downey when he knocked him out. High hits, yes. At least they were coming at you, not from behind you.

[G60 0]

who cares? didn't stop briere from scoring a hat trick last night.

jeez, the way some of these buffalo fans are talking you'd think he was in the hospital paralyzed from the head down.

[DarkStar50 679]

Well, I am glad you pay attention to what I have said in the past. I do stand by "Kill or be killed." and "Always be aware out there." These guys would run over their mother and their father in the "guts of the slot"(as Razor Reaugh calls it)to score a goal. That is what got them there in the first place. I know they play hard and especially play dirty. When they cross the line, look out. At this point, I hope AO runs everybody from here to Christmas!!

Quick story: I played against the Ranger Alumni in the early 90s. second period behind the goal line playing defence, I slashed the stick out of George McPhee's hands. I couldn't say "Hey, I'm sorry." fast enough. He said "it's ok." I said "No really, I'm sorry." I didn't want the guy laying me out on instinct!!