alt="LA Kings Insider with Rich Hammond" />Click below for a couple videos… The first is the Scuderi hit from last night on Jason Chimera, from a couple different angles. It certainly does appear that Scuderi’s initial contact was with the side of Chimera’s left knee. Then check out the second video, from near the end of last season, to see what Scuderi was probably trying to accomplish…
(EDIT: I updated the first video to a better, sharper video done by the Kings, which also includes reaction interviews…)
I don’t think Rob was trying to take out Chimera’s knees or anything, but he did get away with one. The hitter is supposed to bend at the waist for hipchecks, not at the knees. All’s well that ends well though.
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Good Check, There better not be a suspension on this. Chimera just needs to pay a little more attention.
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Agree with Action, although in the bad old days, Craig Muni of Edmonton used to do that two or three times a week and never got punished.
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The check was a little low. Rob will likely get a brief suspension for this, maybe a game or two.
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the difference between what the good hip checkers of the past did (Blake, Muni, Bourque) was that it was hip on thigh. Scuderi’s hit was below the thigh which causes the player to flip rather than fall forward or side-ways with a traditional hip check.
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There’s no place in the game for those kinds of hits. I don’t think Scuderi had any intent to go for the knees. However, intent can’t be what the league looks at to determine whether there’s a suspension coming out of these types of hits. The fact that Scuderi doesn’t have a reputation as a dirty player may mitigate what the league does. But I’m guessing he gets a one or two game suspension.
I hope I’m wrong, but I know I’d want league discipline if this type of hit happened to Kopitar or Smyth.
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I’m sorry but the reason he’s dipping so much lower than hip checkers of the past is that the game is that much faster. Are you reading what your posting? Bend at the waist for a hipcheck? as if they didn’t bend their knees. For Scuds to close that gap he goes that low for speed and balance, if he doesn’t he misses the check or gets planted on his own keester.
I think the hit isn’t dirty, I think it was an evolution of the game, if it’s not what the players want to have happen start calling it as a penalty. This is one of those gray area’s that happen where the game changes the rules.
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Joel – no. It’s a text-book hipcheck. That’s a clean check. It’s simply not possible to hit low with your hip. Look at the replay. Look at the lift. He hits him on the pants. Watch after the impact when Chimera is up in the air.
scooter -
looks like a thigh hit to me. Again, look at where his pants are when he flips over.
action -
I don’t know what you’re talking about. maybe you’re thinking of rob blake’s ass checks, which are non-traditional.
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The check was too low, if Scuds had kept his upper body a little higher, I think it wouldn’t have been so bad, but that could have seriously injured Chimera, which is not what we want.
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If Richards didn’t get a suspension for what he did to Booth, then I see no reason why Rob should face one.
Then again, the league is retarded and have no uniform way of treating players. If the hit on Booth had of been Carcillo (for example), he would have been gone… so who knows how they feel about Rob.
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It was a low/bad hit. If he intended to do it or not, he still has to pay the consequences for his action.
It sucks, but what can you do…
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Scuderi hit him a bit low in my opinion but it is far from malicious or dirty. Quisp is right he hits him in the thigh first not the knee. Its a far cry from scott stevens and what he used to do to forwards with their heads down.
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Quisp,
I hope you’re right. But what I saw was Scuderi lunging forward and hitting Chimera too low. I’m trying to be objective about the hit, and I can’t find myself defending it.
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If you look at the slow motion replay on the 2nd video…at 13-16 seconds…appears that Chimera actually jumps up into Scuderi and thats what causes the hit at or about the knee area. I dont think it was Scuderi going extra low…When Chimera jumps up, that’s what gives the perception that it was a low hit.
Check it out.
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Dead on Jammer- Part of the problem the NHL has right now is the ENFORCEMENT of their own rules. All the uproar about protecting players, yet people like Artuykin get suspended when Richards does not. Ultra confusing! Richards did not aim for the chest, he aimed for the head. Yes, he hit with the shoulder, but if you are trying to protect players and head-shots, here is your opportunity NHL. What happened? NOTHING!
Considering 3 separate Kings players got headshots last night and CBJs were penalized for each one of them (as they should have been), do you think any of them will be fined or suspended for headshots by the league? If ‘Intent to Injure’ is the protocol, if Chimera the hypocrite going upside Fro’s head right next to the boards isn’t intent to injure, then what the F- was it? Chimera was aiming for Fro’s butt for a good game sports love-tap and MISSED?!?! Seriously…
The NHL is the main problem here. Until they define their rules and agenda properly and ENFORCE them all equally as a standard, You cannot blame the players like Scuderi making LEGAL plays that simply look nasty. Hell, you can’t even blame Richards unless you SPECIFICALLY say ‘No hits to the head. Here’s the fine and suspension minimums for ANY such action’.
The NHL is supposed to set the rules for players to play by, not let the players do things that are suspect and then react to them by saying it fits the loose standard. No court of law in the US or Canada would accept that for ANY legal case, so why should the NHLPA accept that from the NHL?
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Ignore my comment above…I just realized the 2nd video was a different player, different game, etc, etc.
Blonde moment!
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It seems to me watching the video that Chimera decides he’s going to go through Scuderi. Once he decided that, Scuderi “ducks” a little bit, causing the hit to be too low.
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After watching the video a few more times, I stand corrected. It looks like Scuderi started at the knees and came up a bit and hit at the hip.
As far as the Artuykin analysis, I don’t see it. Artuykin is a repeat slew-footing offender. The league had no choice but to suspend the guy, and quite frankly I think he got off easy. If the NHL is trying for consistency, I don’t see how they suspend Scuderi. The hit pales in comparison.
I guess I’m a flip-flopper.
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I still maintain that the hit is not “low.” But, check out these hipchecks for comparison:
http://wp.me/ptucv-EP
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That was a good hit. Maybe a little low, but a hip check is a good play. If Richards doesn’t get fined for knocking Booth into dreamland with a late elbow to the head, then Scuderi shouldn’t get penalized at all. Maybe you can argue that the intent to be dirty wasn’t there and it was bad execution, sort of like Ovechkin’s recent fine where he out muscled a guy and in the process slew-footed him; in whcih case Scuderi should be fined, although the difference is that a slew foot is always dangerous and a hip check not so much. (Of course, this analysis doesn’t factor in Campbell’s Don Cherry-like double standard for English speaking Canadians and the rest of the league.)
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Quisp,
Nice video.
I’m in agreement with your analysis, and the way Chimera landed on the ice is not what alarmed me about the hit to begin with. Something similar happened to Jack Johnson in his first game with the Kings as a rookie. He received a nice little “Welcome to the NHL” hit that sent him head over heals. I don’t remember anything wrong with that hit.
I’m just grimace when I see that low hits that can potentially destroy a player’s knees. Take it from a guy who’s dislocated his knees plenty of times playing basketball. I’ve never played hockey, so I will defer to your understanding of a legal hip check. However, I certainly know how it feels to be low-bridged and completely understand why Chimera is angry.
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At full speed it didn’t look as bad, well bad but not too low. I don’t fault the ref for a no call at full speed it it appeared 50/50. The hit was too low and needs to be dealt with in some manner. We would all be demanding someones head if it happened to a King. Hip checks need to stay above the knee…
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Maybe I’m biased cause of the Blake years, but I see no problem with this hit… or any of the others in the compilation posted by Quisp.
I’d have no problem if it was a Kings player on the receiving end either.
Old school hockey in my book. Nice cartwheel Chimera!
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As a Kings fan, I’m ecstatic that we punished them last night and that our team toughness was evident. Also, that we are being talked about not just because Kopi is killing it, but because we’re hitting hard. To me, this is a big moment for the Kings. We have made a big step to establish ourselves as a legit team. Now we’re in for a real test as teams prepare even more against us and we must to rise to the challenge and not back down.
As for the HIT, one also has to take into account how Chimera was NOT protecting himself. He was looking down playing the puck and didn’t even see the Scud Missile headed his way. If you’re going to come into the zone with speed, you better be aware of possible hits coming your way and brace yourself. Other victims of good hip-checks have done this very thing many times. And even though they go flying into the air, they land with their arms out, in protection mode. Chimera, instead, used his face as a Zamboni. The only thing dirty about the hit was the mess he left behind.
PHOTO
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waves -
yes times infinity
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i think it was a good check that is getting flack because of how chimera landed and the his cut…it was a dramatic looking play, buts scuds didn’t aim any lower than he usually does…
let’s move on…
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I thought Chimes was making an effort to repaint the faceoff circle with the blood from his face.
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If Chimera gets up immediatly with no blood, this is a non-issue. It was a good hipcheck, contact above the knees, not at the knees, no intent to injure.
Also, the 2nd feed (Columbus I assume) metions that Chimera was already cut from the Minnesota game so sounds like it just re-opened.
That being said, I can see why they were pissed – if someone did that to one of our guys, we’d be pissed too, but I’d still say no suspension.
The bigger question is, should Brownie should get a suspension for checking himself into his own bench? :)
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I love a good hip check although it appears to be a dying art. Notice on Quisp’s video how many hip checks have evolved into a low bridge. Back in the late ’70s, the Kings had Neil Komadowski on D who used to throw great open ice hip checks. If memory serves me, while skating backwards facing the oncoming player, he would do a sorta hip swivel catching the opponent and sending him airborne.
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If they would have given Scuderi a penalty, It would have been understandable. If that had happened to Kopitar, I would have been upset, and I would have wanted a penalty on the play for sure. But I think Chimera is overreacting. No way should there be a fine or a suspension. It is not dirty at all. The play is way too borderline. I mean if he is upright a bit more, like what,5 more inches? Does that make it ok? 3 inches? A foot? As everyone knows, plays happen so quickly at this level that sometimes situations like this happen. That doesn’t mean they should be excused. But, I think the only penalty he should suffer from this is 2 minutes in the box.
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heychief-
that’s true, but as someone who enjoys a good hip check I have to say you’re targeting the pants. that’s how you get the flip. you also do what you called the “hip swivel” — which is essentially turning on your back leg suddenly — to catch the player with your hip and lower back. this is why the rob blake ass checks bothered me so much (that and the fact that he took himself out of the play half the time): he was essentially aiming his ass at the opponent and steam-rolling him. the classic hip check has that element of a sudden swerve into the player. it’s a beautiful thing.
someonewhocares -
yeah. if scuderi is more upright chimera gets slammed into the boards instead, which is usually more dangerous than a harmless cartwheel through the air.
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The hit was fine. Chimera just overreacted because I’m sure to him, the hit felt like it was low at the time. Once he watches the video of the hit, he’ll realize that it was just a normal hip check. He understandibly felt stupid last night after getting caught like that and flipping over, so he made a big deal about it being dirty to try and save some face. He’s a hockey player and deep down he knows it was a good check, and will keep his head up next time.
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Again, like Lilly mentions, it’s important to rememember he was already cut. I bet if didn’t already have stitches, and he doesn’t reopen them. None of this would be an issue.
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He hit him in the thighs. Not sure if that really qualifies as too low, though definitely lower than your average hip check. Looked bad going in, though…
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As Jim Fox (who actually played the game) noted, in the ‘old days’ that used to be a good check….As tantrum4 notes, keep your head up ! 99% of these ‘vicious hits’ are delivered to guys who somehow never learned the cardinal rule of hockey….in the old days you kept your head up or you got off the ice.
Also note – the ref is looking right at it and doesn’t call a penalty….must have been a ‘old days’ ref, from when guys who skated full speed along the boards with their HEAD DOWN expected to pay the price, instead of crying about getting hit…..
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The more I look at it… the more it does look pretty low, intentional or not. Rob gotta be carefull….
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Confirm it’s a hockey game?
Maybe the league should mandate a horizontal line on player’s shorts to know whether or not the hit is too low.
Chimera needs to get over it. If you’re worried about injuries then go play golf.
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Whether intent was there or not, doesn’t matter. It looked to be a low hit and probably should have resulted in a penalty. Yes, players should keep their heads up at all times — but if they fail to do so doesn’t mean they should be punished with questionable hits. I’m weary of the ‘it would have been okay in the old days’ argument. The game is different and the goal should be to make it safer.
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Good hit, clean hit…..Quisp, your analysis of the check is dead on…..
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Garbage hit. He squatted much lower than he needed to. The guy who thinks Chimera jumped should re-look at the film. Scuderi actually looks and sees that chimera’s knee is right there. Weak. That said, it is not the end of the world. If he would have fought someone (he had multiple offers), there would be less question about his integrity.
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Scuderi should not bend his knees on a hip check.. it becomes a low bridge. Whether its legal or not, both players ended up in a totally compromised position in the air with their head and neck absorbing most of the impact. In addition, the knees of both players were also in jeopardy…
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Scuds came in low with no intent with an unfortunate outcome… but if you look later in the game when chimera sucker punched frolov in the back of the head…..that is malicious intent to injure! lucky for fro he punches like a girl!
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Scuds doesn’t actually make contact with the hip, which was knee level. He makes contact with his shoulder, at thigh and hip level. Sure, it was low, but it wasn’t dirty.
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