The Hockey Drinking Game

We have talked to many people and it seems that they just do not watch hockey.  We have tried to explain why it is better than other sports but with limited success.  As a result of all this time spent, we have decided to make a hockey drinking game.  Let's face it, people like to drink, it could be water, Capri Sun or alcohol.  You can play this game with whatever beverage you want, but it is recommended that if you are of legal drinking age you should play with a couple of beers.  It would also be recommended if you want to par take in this game that you have a designated driver, or just stay at a friend's house.

The Rules:

Socials - If you are unfamiliar with Socials, it means that everyone drinks.

1. Any time play is stopped for an injury.
2. Any reference to Crosby when the Pen-goons are not playing.
3. Any time the puck goes out of play.  (Into the safety netting, or the crowd)
4. Any play/goal that is under review.
5. Any time the goal is knocked off the pegs.
6. Any time there are no carry-over penalties from the period before.
1. A carry-over penalty is a penalty that is not over at the end of a period.  Penalties are not carried over from game to game.

One Drink for the Following Events:

1. Any time your team ices the puck.
2. Any time your goalie freezes the puck.
3. Any time your team is off-sides.

To The Face - A phrase that means finish your beer:

A picture of a line brawl.

1. Any time a player on your team is thrown out of the game.
2. Any time a player on the opposing team scores a hat trick. (3 goals by the same person)
3. Any time a player on the opposing team scores a Gordie Howe hat trick (an assist, a goal and a fight).
4. Any time the opposing team wins and items excluding towels, beverages are thrown on the ice.  (ex. squid in Detroit, rats in Florida)

To The Face Socials - A combination of a Social and To The Face, everyone finishes their beer.

1. During a Line Brawl. A line brawl is when there are multiple fights on the ice at one time.

Goals - Drinks for when the opposing team scores.

1. Beginner's Game - One drink for every goal scored.
2. Advanced Game - First goal is one drink, Second goal is two drinks and so on.
3. Extra drink for a goal when the goalie's water bottle is knocked off the goal, or if the camera inside the net is destroyed by the goal.

Penalties - Drinks for penalties on your team. 

A full penalty of St. Louis Blues.

1. A 2 minute penalty = 2 drinks.
2. A 4 minute penalty = 4 drinks
3. A 5 minute penalty = 5 drinks
4. A 10 minute penalty = 10 drinks

Multiple Penalties on the same player or team.

1. Beginner's Game - All penalty time will be added up and said player will take drinks for the full amount of penalty time.  Player can pause for a couple of seconds between different penalties.
2. Advanced Game - The same as the Beginner's Game except there is no pausing drinks for different penalties.
3. All parties involved will count in a timely fashion for person drinking said number of beers.

Miscellaneous Rules:

1. Finishing one's beer does not stop said player from finishing said drinks.  All drinks will be carried over to the next beer.
2. In the event you run out of beer, the game will be over.  Any unfinished drinks shall not be forgiven, unless all the players agree otherwise.  If no agreement, all drinks will be carried over to the next game. 

Cheating - Cheating will not be tolerated in this game.  If said player is found to be cheating or have broken a rule.  Each of the other parties involved in the game will get to slap the cheater in the face.  Game will not restart until all parties have slapped the cheater in the face.

The Friendship Rule - In the event that a said player passes out, or is puking in the bathroom, the game will be paused.  The game will remain paused until player stops puking and is deemed ok by all parties playing.  If player passes out, said player shall be carried to bed and tucked in.  The game can only restart once said player is ok or in bed.

Arguments:

1. If all parties are rooting for the same team, all arguments will be won by the person that is most sober.
2. If all parties are not rooting for the same teams, all arguments shall be won by the fan of the losing team at that point in the hockey game.
3. In the event that, the most sober or fan of the losing team is completely wrong and just arguing for the sake of arguing, that player will be slapped in the face as if he/she was cheating.

If you have other rules you would like to add they must be agreed upon before the game starts.  It also must be agreed upon before the game starts if you are playing the beginner's or advanced game.

This game was founded in the interest of having fun and friendship.  If a player becomes out of control, other parties can cut that person off.  This game was also made for entertainment purposes if you actually play the game, please be safe.  There is no reason to act crazy and hurt yourself and/or others just because you are drunk or on a sugar buzz.  Capri Sun can be substituted for alcohol if kids wish to play the game with the adults.  In any event I hope you have fun, and watch some hockey please!

Seasons in the Sun 2nd Round NHL Preview

If the 1st round of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs was not awesome enough, they are going to play another round.  The second round features many new faces, but some familiar foes.  The round will only feature one team from the original six, the New York Rangers.  The second round should be a blast though, so many close series.  Season in the Sun hopes to improve on our 4-4 record from the first round.

No messing around here though, let's get into some analysis about the teams, and the match-ups that we will be seeing in the next round.  If you are not familiar with the NHL playoff rules, all the series are 7 games in all rounds.  Also, what they do is that the bracket is always reloaded so that the highest seed team will play the lowest seed team.  What does that mean?  Well, you know March Madness, teams play in a bracket format when you could have a lower seed play a lower seed in the second round.  In the NHL, both lower seeds would be separated to play higher seeds, so you see the difference?

Let's start off in the Western Conference:

St. Louis Blues (2) vs Los Angeles Kings (8) - Can the Kings pull off another miracle upset?  Its going to be much harder, the Blues are playing very good hockey.  The Blues also have a coach, Hitchcock, that won a Stanley Cup when he was with the Dallas Stars.  He has really turned this franchise around, and they are playing at a very high level.  Both teams have great goal-tending, as we touched on this topic in the first round, Quick for the Kings, and Elliott or Halak for the Blues.  We here at Seasons in the Sun sadly think that it is time to start buying into the Blues.  The Blackhawks were also a #2 seed when they won the cup in 2010.  If the Blues win the Cup they would continue the trend of a Central Division team winning the Cup every two years.  Seasons in the Sun likes the Blues in 6.

Phoenix Coyotes (3) vs Nashville Predators (4) - Another series will great goal-tending, you have Mike Smith on Phoenix, and Rinne on the Predators.  It will make it really hard for the offenses to get going in this series.  This should be a very tight, and very close series; very low scoring as well.  Both teams have been in the playoffs, the last couple of years and have tasted defeat with younger players.  Both Weber for Nashville and Doan for Phoenix are getting toward the end of their careers in the NHL, and both will be gunning for the Cup.  Both are very skilled, and great team leaders.  This is the best Nashville team that they have had since the franchise started, the same can be said for the Coyotes since they moved from Winnipeg.  Season in the Sun likes the Predators in 7.

Eastern Conference:

New York Rangers (1) vs Washington Capitals (7) - This will be a hard series to handicap because like the last series, the Rangers look better on paper and should win the series.  The Washington Capitals are coming off a big upset, will we see an emotional letdown?  We think the same question could be asked of the New York Rangers.  The Rangers were one game away from having the best record in the NHL this year.  The Rangers style though has kept opponents in the game, which leaves them vulnerable to upsets and defeat.  We would like to think that the Capitals are better than Ottawa, and they have Alexander the Great.  Seasons in the Sun likes the Rangers in 7.

Philadelphia Flyers (5) vs New Jersey Devils (6) - The Flyers are coming off a 6 game series with the Pen-goons and the Devils are coming off a 7 game series against the Panthers.  The question has to be did the Flyers pick up any rust being off almost a week longer than the Devils.  We really like the Flyers right now at Seasons in the Sun.  Giroux has really stepped up his game, and his leadership for the Flyers this year.  The Devils while they are a great team, we just do not feel like they are on the Flyers level right now.  The Devils will have to cool off the NHL's hottest power-play in the playoffs.  I think the task is too much for the Devils.  Seasons in the Sun likes the Flyers in 5.

Well there you have it, hopefully it will go better than the .500 mark that we set in the first round.  Last Saturday, Seasons in the Sun watched 10 hours straight of NHL playoff hockey and it was great.  The day was capped off by a Toews aka Captain Serious goal in OT against the Coyotes.  I have been watching so much hockey that I am afraid that if the TSA is watching or tapping into my cable they might think that I am a Canadian immigrant living in the US.  Hahaha, that was a joke, have a great one!

NHL 1st Round Analysis

I might be a prisoner of the moment but I would have to believe looking back on the 1st Round of the NHL playoffs this year might have been the best ever.  There were so many overtime games.  There was so much chippy play, and players were actually fighting in the playoffs.  There was the Penguins - Flyers series in the 1st round.  A bunch of game 7's in the last couple days, that were very exciting.  How could you seriously go wrong with what went down?

So let's do some analysis based on the picks and how the first round went down.  Starting with the Western Conference:

Los Angeles Kings (8) vs Vancouver Canucks (1) - In what had to be the most surprising series in the first round, the Kings handled the President's Trophy winners in 5 games.  Seasons in the Sun was quoted as saying, "The Canucks should easily win this series in 5 or 6 games," boy were we wrong.  The Kings' goalie, J. Quick, was the difference in this series, he played lights out.  On the other hand, Luongo, played terrible for the Canucks and was benched in favor of the back-up goalie.  It went so bad for Luongo in Vancouver, that he is apparently asking for a trade, unbelievable.  Seasons in the Sun - 0 - 1

San Jose Sharks (7) vs St. Louis Blues (2) - In another series that ended in 5 games, the St. Louis Blues showed that their regular season play was equal to the task in the playoffs.  Seasons in the Sun could not pick the Blues because of a conflict of interest (a classy way of saying we hate the blues hahaha).  The Blues goalie Halak was hurt in this series, and will be ruled out of the first two games of the 2nd round.  That was a little matter as Elliott, the back-up for the Blues, came in and put the Sharks in a net they could not swim away from.
This is just another failure for the Sharks, whom have the talent to get to the cup final, but just have not made it there.  Seasons in the Sun - 0 - 2

Chicago Blackhawks (6) vs Phoenix Coyotes (3) - In a very testy series, that would be the only series to go more than 5 games in the Western Conference first round, the Phoenix Coyotes got the better of the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2.  The series was dealt a black eye when Raffi Torres knocked out Marian Hossa, the Blackhawks leading score on the season, in Game 3.  Mike Smith, the Phoenix goalie, played brilliant, shutting down the Blackhawks offense.  The world knows how we feel about the Blackhawks, and let's just say that this series really left a very bitter and bad taste in our mouths. Seasons in the Sun - 0 - 3

Detroit Red Wongs (5) vs Nashville Predators (4) - Thank God for the Nashville Predators ending the Red Wongs' season in 5 games.  Season in the Sun said, "It was Nashville's time," and it was, only losing one game in the series.  The series was testy early, but the Red Wongs did not really answer the bell when it came to be physical.  They have a pretty old team, and the younger players did not step up their game as the Red Wong fans would have liked.  Great Job Nashville! Seasons in the Sun - 1 - 3

Eastern Conference:

Ottawa Senators (8) vs New York Rangers (1) - Seasons in the Sun, brought up the idea in the preview that this might be a trap series for the New York Rangers, and it was very close to that.  The Rangers prevailed in 7 games, which leads us to believe that the Rangers might have over looked the Senators a little bit.  The Senators probably the worst team in the playoffs really gave the Rangers all they could handle.  Ottawa might have given the Rangers' opponent in the second round a blueprint to beat them.  Seasons in the Sun - 2 - 3

Washington Capitals (7) vs Boston Bruins (2) - There will be a new Stanley Cup Winner this year as the Boston Bruins were downed by the Capitals in game 7 in OT.  This might have been the best series to watch, really good physical play, and up/down the ice action that was hard to beat.  This was a slightly less upset than the Kings - Canucks, media was really not giving the Caps much of a chance.  Too bad we did not pick this upset, hahaha.  Seasons in the Sun - 2 - 4

New Jersey Devils (6) vs Florida Panthers (3) - It went to double OT in the 7th game but the Devils beat the Florida Panthers 3-2.  We were not that high on the Florida Panthers when the series started but they played very well, hats off to them.  New Jersey should also be given a pat on the back for winning the last two games in OT to advance to the second round.  Its really too bad that both teams could not move on because they were very equal teams.  Seasons in the Sun - 3 - 4

Philadelphia Flyers (5) vs Pittsburgh Pen-goons (4) - In what was the most testy series in the 1st round the Flyers beat down the Pen-goons in 6 games.  It was a very high scoring series, and the goalies, well, they did not show up.  Fleury for the Pen-goons had another playoff flop, he let in so many soft goals that it was hard for the Pen-goons to keep up.  The Flyers power play was unbelievable at 53%, in the regular season you're lucky if you are at 25% to 30%.  Giroux, was an animal for the Flyers, and really set the tone for them.  Thank you Flyers for destroying the Pen-goons.  Seasons in the Sun - 4 - 4

Our first round wrap up would not be complete without a section on 1st Round Conspiracy Theories.  You know everyone loves a good conspiracy theory or a good conspiracy thriller like The Fugitive with Harrison Ford.  There is really nothing like Harrison Ford running around trying to be like he is in Die Hard, and at the same time trying to prove that he did not murder his wife.  There are no murders here but these are the conspiracies that caught our eye from the first round:

Is there really parity in the NHL or is it all set up?  The NHL has been going around preaching about how awesome the parity has been in the sport but did it systematically eliminate the last four cup winners all in the first round?  You might think that this is not fishy, but they eliminated them in the order that they won the cup.  In 2008, the Red Wongs won the cup, they were eliminated on April 20th by Nashville.  Next, was the 2009 winner, the Pen-goons eliminated on April 22nd by the Flyers.  Thirdly, the Chicago Blackhawks eliminated on April 23rd by the Coyotes.  Toews and the Blackhawks raised the Cup in 2010.  Finally, the Boston Bruins were upset by the Capitals on April 25th.  This is too weird not to think something is not up.

The second conspiracy has to do with Coyotes - Blackhawks series, and it is what we at Seasons in the Sun have dubbed, "The Red Wong Conspiracy."  This has to do with the fact that the NHL does not want the Blackhawks to win anything.  Why would the NHL want the Coyotes to win? Duh, they own the Coyotes.  Coyotes attendance has been at the bottom of the league, and the only way the league can break even is if the Coyotes get to the playoffs.  Well, they have been in the playoffs the last couple of seasons, and that has done little for attendance.  The NHL finally decided that it needed the Coyotes to win a playoff series so maybe someone would buy the team from them.

That's not all though let's talk about some of the plays in the Coyotes - Blackhawks series that bring up questionable officiating.  For example, Smith, the goalie was run into by Shaw of the Blackhawks, Smith missed two periods, Shaw was thrown out of the game when the play happened and suspended 3 games.  Next play, Marian Hossa was knocked out by Raffi Torres, no penalty was called on the play.  Torres as compared to Hossa has almost 50 less points on the season.  Luckily, some justice was given when Torres was suspended 25 games.  There are 4 officials on the ice during an NHL game, how can they not see this? Who was the only player thrown out for the Hossa hit?  Bollig, a Blackhawks player for going after Torres.  Finally, Hayes in game 6 with about 10 minutes left was thrown out of the game after he checked a Phoenix player into the boards and gave him a bloody nose.  You see a theme? Only Blackhawks players were getting thrown out of the games.

We would like to thank you for reading Seasons in the Sun NHL 1st Round Wrap Up, coming soon will be the 2nd round preview.  As always thanks for reading, and have a great day.

Seasons in the Sun's Best Sports Video Game Moments

Crosby laying in pain on the ice (NHL '12)

We at Seasons in the Sun, we not only love sports but we love video games.  The best part of sports video games is that things that are completely impossible can come true.  Unrealistic stats, like throwing for 700 or 800 yards a game.  Teams with no business winning anything, coming away with the title.  So, from what we can remember, these are the best of the best video game moments:

R.J. Umberger destroys Cindy "Crybaby" Crosby - NHL '12 - You know those hits where one player does not see what is about to happen, that is what happened here.  Umberger came out of no where, and destroyed Crosby, Crosby literally went flying (remember this is a game).  Once Crosby finally came down, he slid to the blue line and was rolling around in pain.  Crosby left the game and did not return.  If this would have happened in real life, Umberger would have been thrown out of the game, suspended, fined and probably given the death penalty.

Troy State wins the National Title - College Football '05 or '06 (PS2) - It took three years in Dynasty Mode but finally I got enough decent players to win the title.  This was before games started the BCS model, Troy State would have had no chance whats so ever to get into the game.  Troy State went 9-3 the first year, and I got crushed against NC State.  The second year, I was undefeated but was left out of the title game, classic.  They say third time is the charm, and it was.  Troy State has since changed their name to just Troy University.

Hartford Whalers win the Stanley Cup over the Detroit Red Wongs - NHL '96 - You guys know about the love that I have for the Hartford Whalers, and we took them to the promise land in a magical season.  I did not pick to play the Red Wongs, it just happened that way.  The only sad thing about this was that Kevin Dineen, the greatest Whaler of all time was on the Flyers when the game was made.  Nothing like seeing the Whale celebrate winning the cup, even if it was a video game.  Maybe one day, this dream can become a reality.

Buffalo Bulls 22 - Iowa 21 - College Football '07 - In what was the greatest upset of all time, besides Troy State winning the National Title.  Buffalo is one of the worst football teams in the game, and they went into Iowa City praying for a miracle.  The team was so bad the only way I could move the ball against the Iowa defense was subbing in the fastest player on the team for the QB, and running the ball.  The game came down to the last play in the 4th quarter, Iowa was up 21 - 14, Buffalo would score a touchdown as time expired to make it 21-20 Iowa.  There was no way I was going to OT, so I went for 2 and it was good.  The upset was complete 22-21, Buffalo wins.

Chicago Blackhawks 17 - Detroit Red Wongs 0 - NHL '96 - This was easily my biggest shut out of all time.  The game was on 5 minute periods, luckily after playing the game for about 15 to 20 years, you can figure out all the glitches in the game.  In NHL '96, you can score from pretty much anywhere on the ice.  I have scored from the opposite goal line before, its frickin' crazy.  This was equally great because I got to just pound the Red Wongs into the Ice, running up the score? Definitely.

Columbus Blue Jackets win the Stanley Cup - NHL '12 - Erasing what was the worst season in the real NHL for 2011 - 2012, the Blue Jackets swept the Montreal Canadians to win the cup.  Rick Nash was given the cup by Gary Bettman at Nationwide Arena, the fans were going nuts.  The Blue Jackets were the #5 seed in the Western Conference playoffs and made it all the way to the cup.  NHL '12 does a great job with the end of the game, showing players passing around the cup, and then getting down on the ice for the infamous team photo.

Ohio State University 154 - Penn University 0 - College Football '07 - This game just turned into how many points could I score.  I was kicking onside kickoffs, going for two on every touchdown, and running the hail mary offense.  The Hail Mary Offense is defined by throwing a Hail Mary on every play. Penn like Buffalo is one of the worst teams on the game.  The game was actually play @ Penn, though the home crowd did not help much.  This was an example of running up the score, and showing no remorse for anyone.

As you can see from some of these moments, they just are not possible.  Come on, the chances of Troy winning a BCS title, or the Blue Jackets winning the Stanley Cup, just does not seem very likely.  If you did not notice, I love to run up the score, its more of a challenge then anything once you figure out what works and what does not.  Some of the older games have many glitches, and the programmers today have become much better about limiting the glitches.  So if you have any ridiculous sports video game accomplishments, put them in the comments below.  Thanks for reading Seasons in the Sun.

Raffi Torres Done for 25 games.

Bye, Bye, Torres!

Raffi Torres learned today that he will be suspended for 25 games for the hit on Marian Hossa.  Torres has already been fined $2,500 and suspended this year for hits on other players.  He was able to escape suspension for his hit last year on Brent Seabrook in the playoffs.  The question now is will he change?  Matt Cooke of the Pittsburgh Pen-goons, was a goon much like Torres, and after getting "the book thrown at him," he has played a very clean 2011-2012 season. Cooke's turnaround has been rumored to be fueled by his wife's anger about the way he was playing.  And they say that husbands never listen to their wives, child please.

Torres will forfeit about $21,500 per game that he sits out.  This was the 3rd time this season that he has been suspended by the NHL for dirty play.  The suspension will carry over to next year.  It is the opinion of the Season in the Sun staff, that if Hossa misses more then 25 games, the suspension should be lengthened to the amount of games that Hossa misses.  It probably would not happen, but it would be nice justice if it did.

As we described in the blog a couple days on the Hossa hit, Torres violated rules 42.1 and 48.1 with regards to charging and hits to the head.  Shanahan agreed with us about the violations of those two rules, and he also added that he violated the rule for interference.  Interference occurs when a player hits another player that does not have the puck.  Also, interference can be called if a player interference with the goalie's opportunity to stop the puck from going into the net.  Clearly, Torres violated all three rules on the hit, and will now sit out.

Torres: A History of Cheap Shots:

Torres hit on Hossa - 25 game suspension.

Torres hit on Brent Seabrook - No suspension.

Torres hit on Jan Hejda - $2,500 fine.

Torres hit on Nate Prosser - Two game suspension.

Torres hit on Max Pacioretty - Sorry it's in French (hahaha)

Torres hit on Milan Michalek - from 2006 when Torres played for the Oilers

Torres hit on Andrew Ference - Adam McQuaid makes Torres pay.

Do you want more or is this enough to see that Torres has a history of leaving his feet, charging, playing dirty?  I think we need more!

You didn't think I could find more did you? - Torres dirty hit on Jordan Eberle (4 game suspension).

Well there are 7 videos to show you that Torres' hit on Hossa was not an anomaly.  Torres is a very dirty player, and he continues to target opponents' heads.  He clearly has no respect for his opponents, and we at Seasons in the Sun, thank Shanahan for the 25 game suspension, but we wonder if it is enough to get through to Torres.

Torres' Dirty Hit on Hossa

We here at Season in the Sun, believe that before we make any comments on what happened in the Chicago - Phoenix game last night, that you formulate your own opinion before we state ours.

As you can see from the video this was, in our opinion, a very dirty hit by Raffi Torres on Marian Hossa.  This is not the first time that Raffi Torres has targeted a star player on the Chicago Blackhawks.  Last year Raffi Torres laid out Brent Seabrook.  Torres has a history of dirty play, not just against the Blackhawks.  He has been suspended and fined, but it does not seem any of this is getting through to him. Ignorance is clearly bliss.

"First off, I hope he is alright. As far as the hit goes, I just felt like it was a hockey play, just trying to finish my hit out there," said Torres. "The last thing I'll say is a I hope he's alright."

Torres was not penalized on the play, because somehow all 4 officials on the ice, did not see it happen.  The only player to be penalized was Brandon Bollig of the Blackhawks for sticking up for his teammate.  After doing some reseach, we at Seasons in the Sun believe that the hit broke two NHL rules 42.1 and 48.1.  Clearly, Torres does not think he did anything wrong, even though he knocked out Hossa and watched Hossa leave on a stretcher.

NHL Rule 42.1

"42.1 - Charging - A minor or major penalty shall be imposed on a player who skates or jumps into, or charges an opponent in any manner. Charging shall mean the action of a player who, as a result of distance travelled, shall violently check an opponent in any manner.  A "charge" may be the result of a check into the boards, into the goal frame or in open ice."

Torres is in violation of this rule because his skates left the ice, and in the words of the rule, he jumped into the opponent to violently check Hossa.  The rule even covers the area of ice where the hit happened, open ice, so that there might not be any loop-holes in the rule.

NHL Rule 48.1

"48.1 - Illegal Hits to the Head - A hit resulting in contact with the opponent's head where the head is targeted and the principle point of contact is not permitted.  However, in determining whether such a hit should have been permitted, the circumstances of the hit, including whether the opponent put themselves in a vulnerable position immediately prior to or simultaneously with the hit or the head contact on an otherwise legal body check was avoidable, can be considered."

Torres, in our opinion, is in violation of this rule because he hit Hossa with his shoulder in the head, specifically the jaw.  As you can see from the video, the head area was the only place on the body that Torres hit Hossa making it, "the principle point of contact."  As you can also see from the video, Torres has all sorts of time to pull up, skate away, and avoid Hossa.  By the time that Hossa was hit by Torres, he did not even have the puck.

Blackhawks players, fans and the coaching staff are baffled by the fact that there was no penalty called on the play, and the fact that none of the officials saw what happened.

"We've got four guys out there.  When there's a guy getting carried off on a stretcher, you might think that there might be something wrong with what happened." - Toews, Blackhawk's Captain.

Toews would go on to say that he would not be surprised if Torres did it again because he was not penalized at all.  Seasons in the Sun would not be surprised either because this is not the first time Torres has done this to the Blackhawks.

This just goes back to the other point that we were trying to make about the NHL and the lack of discipline. The way that these playoffs have been going, you need to suspend guys to curb this fighting and dirty play.  It is completely out of control, and now you have someone that got seriously hurt.  The NHL needs to step in and say that this dirty play needs to stop.  They need to make a statement with Torres' suspension to say hey look guys, we are not messing around anymore.

Shanahan Dragging His Feet on Suspensions for Pen-goons

I think we all remember last Sunday, the Flyers vs. the Pen-goons, we remember the fights and the dirty play by the Pen-goons.  Questions remain why two days later, the suspension dictator Shanahan has only suspended one player, Adams (Pen-goons) for game 4 and fined the Pen-goons coach $10,000.  These were automatic because Adams started a fight in the last 5 minutes of a game, and if that happens the coach of the team is automatically fined $10,000.  Why Neal and Asham have not been suspended is preposterous.

Let's look at Neal's case first, Neal left his feet and hit a defensive-less player, incident number one.  He then hit another Flyers player in the head, incident number two.  Neal is not a first time offender, he was fined $2,500 for a high stick earlier in the season.  $2,500 might not sound like much, but legally under the collective bargaining agreement it is the most that the NHL can fine a player.  So you have, two incidents, a non-first time offender, if he is not suspended for at least two games, its a joke.

This is the video from incident #1 as you can see the Flyers' player, Couturier is not even playing the puck and is leveled.  The play was not penalized, even though its classic interference, and you could even make a case for a charging call because Neal left his feet.  The video also shows incident #2.  Neal's play is definitely worthy of a multiple game suspension.

Neal's teammate Asham, cross checked Schenn in the throat area after Schenn made a hit along the boards on a Pen-goons player.  Asham not only cross checked Schenn, he decided to punch him again after the violent cross check.  Now, Asham whom already has a laundry list of questionable plays that have led to previous suspensions, clearly was out of line here.  If I was Shanahan, I am going 4 games, for a check to the head area, and for the extra punch with Schenn already out on the ice.

Here is the video of the Asham hit and the extra punch on the back of Schenn's head.  You can hear the NBC announcer say that Schenn's hit was clean.  That was definitely a cheap shot by Asham, and then for some reason he thinks that the cross check was not enough and hits Schenn in the back of the head.  This crossed so many lines, this was definitely not a hockey play.  There was a clear intent to injure here, that's why 4 games is what I would advise Shanahan to suspend Asham.

Let's talk about Cindy Crosby for a second, he started a fight with Giroux for Crybaby incident #1.  He takes 3 or 4 extra wacks at the Flyers goal, which is a violation of an unwritten rule, that you do not wack the goalie's glove when he is holding the puck (Crybaby incident #2).  He knocks Voracek's glove away from him when Jacob tries to pick it up (Crybaby incident #3).  Both incident #2 and incident #3 started scrums on the ice.  He started the fight with Hartnell where Adams came in at the end and pulled Hartnell's hair (Crybaby incident #4).  So, he pretty much started at least 4 different fights, but only fought one.

This is Crybaby incident #4.  Clearly, you can see that Crosby was at the beginning fighting Hartnell, and like the coward he is, he could not finish the fight.  He needed to summon one of his goons (Adams) to try to finish the job for him.  Given, Cindy Crosby's actions for the entire game, I would suspend Cindy for Game 4.  He was an instigator on numerous fights, and you know what if the NHL wants this to stop, they really need to suspend players for playing like Cindy was playing.

I am not really sure why the NHL and Shanahan are dragging their feet on these suspensions because they are clearly suspension worthy.  I am not sure why the Pen-goons have given into playing like goons, they have a good team when they are focus.  Clearly, they are not focused anymore.  The Flyers really have had to play a game of self defense in this series.  You cannot fault the Flyers for fighting back, because the Pen-goons have lost their heads.  Shanahan needs to wake up and start suspending players the day after and not waiting because it might look good.

Shanahan with a laundry list of penalties like this you cannot tell me two days later you can only come up with one suspension so far:

Game 3 Penalty Summary:

1st Period
2:39 Pittsburgh roughing - 2 min D. Engelland
2:39 Philadelphia roughing - 2 min Z. Rinaldo
5:14 Philadelphia high-sticking - 2 min J. Voracek
6:44 Pittsburgh cross checking - 2 min M. Niskanen
6:44 Pittsburgh roughing - 2 min M. Niskanen
6:44 Philadelphia roughing - 2 min C. Giroux
7:24 Pittsburgh cross checking - 2 min K. Letang
12:02 Pittsburgh roughing - 2 min S. Sullivan
12:02 Philadelphia roughing - 2 min J. Voracek
12:02 Pittsburgh fighting - 5 min K. Letang
12:02 Pittsburgh game misconduct - 10 min K. Letang
12:02 Philadelphia slashing - 2 min K. Timonen
12:02 Philadelphia fighting - 5 min K. Timonen
12:02 Philadelphia game misconduct - 10 min K. Timonen
12:02 Philadelphia fighting - 5 min C. Giroux
12:02 Pittsburgh fighting - 5 min S. Crosby
14:15 Pittsburgh match penalty - 10 min A. Asham
14:15 Philadelphia charging - 2 min B. Schenn

2nd Period
0:35 Pittsburgh hooking - 2 min J. Staal
9:13 Philadelphia kneeing - 2 min N. Grossmann
12:30 Pittsburgh tripping - 2 min C. Kunitz
17:22 Pittsburgh slashing - 2 min C. Kunitz

3rd Period
15:18 Pittsburgh charging - 2 min J. Neal
15:18 Pittsburgh roughing - 2 min C. Kunitz
15:18 Philadelphia roughing - 2 min J. Voracek
15:18 Pittsburgh misconduct - 10 min D. Engelland
15:18 Philadelphia roughing - 2 min W. Simmonds
15:18 Philadelphia misconduct - 10 min W. Simmonds
15:18 Philadelphia roughing - 2 min S. Hartnell
15:18 Philadelphia fighting - 5 min S. Hartnell
15:18 Pittsburgh roughing - 2 min S. Crosby
15:18 Pittsburgh instigator - 2 min C. Adams
15:18 Pittsburgh misconduct - 10 min J. Neal
15:18 Pittsburgh fighting - 5 min C. Adams
15:18 Pittsburgh game misconduct - 10 min C. Adams
17:38 Philadelphia cross checking - 2 min Z. Rinaldo
17:38 Philadelphia unsportsmanlike conduct - 2 min Z. Rinaldo
17:38 Philadelphia misconduct - 10 min Z. Rinaldo

Shanahan do your job, make a decision, stop dragging your feet just because you have to suspend players from the Pen-goons.