I don’t know too much about the NHL and hardly pay attention to it all season, even the playoffs.
This year is different though.
I have been amazed how many fights there have been between the teams, especially the series between the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins. I know they are rivals, but seriously? It seems like half of the roster for each team has earned a game misconduct. I thought fighting was left in the regular season? I don’t know if it’s a good idea for some of your better players getting in fights in the playoffs and being suspended for one, two, or three games. It reminds me of some of the stories I used to read when I was younger, about the final days of NFL training camp. There is something about grown men sleeping in tiny, stuffy dorm rooms, never having “stress” relief for nearly three weeks. They are away from their wives, girlfriends or whatever else they call them, so they get irritated, easily. That’s why they have a lot of brush-ups and near fights. That, coupled with three weeks of two-a-days and warm-hot/humid weather, doesn’t bode well.
So what the hell is going on in the NHL? It’s like those Grand Theft Auto games that you used to (or still do if you don’t have a life) play when you were younger. You could go out in broad daylight, rob and kill someone and as long as it wasn’t in front of a cop, then you won’t be caught. But the cops are going to catch you in the playoffs. The referees (cops) are going to see two dudes going at it on the ice, so will the 18,000 people in the stands. But what happens to you when you get caught in the video game? You get arrested, some money taken from you, and then you get released. So, in the playoffs, you get suspended a game or two, and fined some money, then you are back on the ice.
It’s gotten so bad that stars like Sidney Crosby (just cleared to play again after missing significant time with a concussion) are going after guys, albeit he sneaks up behind guys and tries to shove them into the boards. Has he lost his mind?! He is one solid punch to the back of the head from being done for his career.
I understand that it’s “part of the game”, but someone needs to knock some common sense into some of these guys.