58 Comments

1. pokerdan says:

   October 26, 2010 at 6:31 am

   lol.. Not anywhere near the head. Just because he didn’t see it coming made it seem way worse than it was. I don’t even see a penalty there at all. I am sure people will argue it was lateral and blah blah blah.. But honestly, it was a hit to the shoulder.

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   Jay Reply:
   October 26th, 2010 at 6:57 am

   @pokerdan, Like I said in another thread…shoulder to shoulder is…well it doesn’t really matter in the whole vulnerable position sense.

   If its a shoulder to shoulder check on the boards to an unsuspecting player it doesn’t make it NOT boarding. It’s still boarding because the player had NO IDEA it was coming and the hit put him at risk. I don’t know how many times I have seen boarding on a shoulder to shoulder play. It’s all about the vulnerability these days.

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   Paddy Reply:
   October 26th, 2010 at 9:53 am

   @Jay, Miettinin did not go into the boards, though, so it can’t be boarding. And Brown did not hit his head. The new rule is worded as such:

   “a lateral, back-pressure or blind-side hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or the principal point of contact”

   I completely understand why the referees made the call. They’ve been tasked to crack down on hits like that, and it’s extremely difficult to tell if the head was targeted or the principal point of contact. But Brown was not targeting the head, the head was not the principal point of contact, and the player was not hit into the boards.

   I don’t know how they can suspend Brown for that play.

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   mcsorleyfan Reply:
   October 26th, 2010 at 11:14 am

   @Jay, as I said in another thread… Brownie goes out of his way to get forward of Mietinnen, and contact is made on the inside of AM’s left shoulder. Not only is their no head contact, but Brown hits him on the front of his body. Only the fact that Mietinnen drops his head at the last second makes a “blind-side” hit a possibility.

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2. KFII says:

   October 26, 2010 at 6:32 am

   Even with the close up it really isn’t clear. I doubt any further action is taken by the league.

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3. fourtunato says:

   October 26, 2010 at 6:38 am

   The head does not move on impact. It is swept away from the point of contact because the shoulder takes the blow. It’s not even close in slow motion.

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   Real 7 Reply:
   October 26th, 2010 at 7:41 am

   @fourtunato,
   the ref who called it [McCauley] was down by the end boards….from his angle he could not see the shoulder contact, only the head fly around, so naturally he made the call, which any ref would have…of course that doesn’t make it right for Brownie, and if MIN had scored on the 5 minute PP,
   it could have been a game breaker…

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4. Mike in CO says:

   October 26, 2010 at 6:40 am

   it was shoulder hit and he got right back up and kept playing.
   If they call that one, what about the hit on Drew?

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   Jay Reply:
   October 26th, 2010 at 6:54 am

   @Mike in CO, Incidental contact. Cole had originally no intention of hitting Doughty. Doughty turned towards Cole and at that point Cole lowered his shoulder a bit in an effort to protect himself. Doughty wasn’t even looking at Cole but he was skating right at him.

   That was the decision of the league.

   What about the Westgarth incidental hit on Bourque earlier this season that hurt him? That was a much harder hit and there was no call rightfully. You gotta put stuff into perspective.

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   Mike in CO Reply:
   October 26th, 2010 at 12:09 pm

   @Jay, As long as they keep the calls consistent.

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5. rumpa#19 says:

   October 26, 2010 at 6:43 am

   Seam like the refs our looking for a call on us the last couple games? That call seamed weak as a 2min let alone 5min and misconduct.

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   Jay Reply:
   October 26th, 2010 at 6:50 am

   @rumpa#19, There is no 2 minute high hit penalty, only a 5.

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   dMan Reply:
   October 26th, 2010 at 8:21 am

   @rumpa#19, when a team has a reputation for hard hits and physical play like the Kings, the refs will be more vigilant – none of these refs want something bad to happen on their watch! Comes with the territory.

   However, the league wants to crack down (no pun intended) on head hits which I’m in favor of and the scope of that is pretty wide. It’s the beginning of the season, refs are being extra vigilant and still feeling their way through the definitions. With time, these types of calls will settle down as both players and refs figure out the boundaries.

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6. Gary says:

   October 26, 2010 at 6:51 am

   No hit to the head, Brown was gunning for his shoulder, but when the shot was followed through, Miettinen turned and Brown caught his chest. His head went along for the ride.

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7. Jay says:

   October 26, 2010 at 6:52 am

   I don’t want to stress this point enough. But before people get all outraged at the officiating and such remember this is a SPLIT second high speed instance where a call was made. I can agree to the call made on the ice.

   and look at it this way PLEASE.

   If this were Kopi…and the hit was from Clutterbuck. SAME EXACT HIT. Would you be happy that the refs made the 5 and the GM on Clutterbuck? Knowing that they were trying to protect our players?

   I know more then one person would have been calling for a high hit call….

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   Belexes Reply:
   October 26th, 2010 at 12:46 pm

   @Jay,

   I think we all want the correct call to be made don’t we?? This call was not that.

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8. Donald S. says:

   October 26, 2010 at 7:25 am

   In fact the league ought to send this out as a textbook example of how to hit someone cleanly when they are vulnerable. It gives you more respect for how great a job Brown does of banging bodies but doing it without taking penalties or injuring someone.

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9. scvking says:

   October 26, 2010 at 7:26 am

   This kind of hit is going to get called every night these days. The refs are instructed to look for these and call these. The league will determine after the fact if these are objectionable.

   I don’t see anything on the replay to warrant subsequent action. I don’t know if they will dismiss the major penalty or not. Hard to say on that, although I don’t believe the hit was a “bad” one, but it did look bad initially. I don’t blame anyone for this. Brown made a clean hard hit. The refs did what they are supposed to do by the league. The league will determine (I beleive) that there was no intent or hit to the head. The system, as we now have it, has done what it is supposed to do.

   I am all for ensuring the safety of the players. I do not find this to be “wussifying” the game. It is an attempt by the league to legislate behavior against a few headhunters. I have no problem with it. For now, some players will pay a small price, and that is trade off I am willing to go along with.

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   Jay Reply:
   October 26th, 2010 at 7:32 am

   @scvking, Here here!

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   mrbrett7 Reply:
   October 26th, 2010 at 8:20 am

   @scvking, It’s hockey. People get hurt sometimes. I disagree as I feel this is taking away from the physical nature of the game.

   Once again, the NHL has put the officials in yet another terrible situation forcing them to make calls that aren’t totally obvious (something they REALLY need to stop doing). The game is hard enough for them to call.

   I understand why McCauley made the call. He has no choice because of the league mandate. But, when you look at the replay, it’s fairly obvious that not only was the hit legal, it wasn’t even close to illegal, but because it “looked” bad, McCauley has no choice but to make the call. So, he does, and the possibility of costing a team 2 points is there. Those 2 points could cost that team a playoff spot.

   I’m all for protecting players from a bunch of idiots. You want to do that? Don’t supsend guys for a game or two when they DO head hunt…suspend them for an entire season. Make a point when they are complete idiots.

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   scvking Reply:
   October 26th, 2010 at 9:12 am

   @mrbrett7,
   I agree with you to a point. I am discussing how the situation is with the refs being forced to make the call that they did on Brown. Really, as it stands, they HAD to make that call.

   I think you are mainly arguing the second part of the equation, and I am talking about the first part.
   First—the league has set up a policy where they want the refs to make that call, and the league will address it after the fact. Far from perfect, no doubt, but it is the system that is currently in place. We can argue as to whether it is fair, or right, or whatever…but it is the policy. And my point is that given the choice between calling that penalty on Brown is a sacrifice I am willing to tolerate to stop the headhunting.

   Second—The “justice” part of this is an altogether different argument, where the league has had the opportunity to send the message and has failed. I agree wholeheartedly, stern punishment to enforce or gain the result that is desired has been lacking. That serious consequence is and has been missing from the behavior/punishment in the past. Not only has been administered arbitrarily, it has been nonsensical in some cases. But, again, that is a separate issue, at least in my mind.

   I love the physical part of the game, and I certainly subscribe to the “hard and clean” nature of competition. But, some players have gone beyond that in attempting to injure. That is what this is about. We can certainly differ in opinion about how to get there, but my point is that this is a step (although an imperfect one) that will hopefully lead to better and less careless behavior.

   I also think that this can be temporary, the situation with players being tossed from the game. The players actually can determine, through their response to this policy, as to whether the behavior changes enough to allow the refs to make the calls as they see them, not the ones that they are under pressure to make.

   I am only saying that I can go along with the policy because I think the league needs to address the injury situation, and this is at least a step toward doing that.

   Re the bad call—I must admit at first, I felt it was the correct call (as did the ref). After seeing the replay, it was apparent that the call was not correct. But, the official does not have the luxury of replay. And, as we have both mentioned, the ref’s are supposed to make the call that was made.

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   SPIDEY35 Reply:
   October 26th, 2010 at 10:23 am

   @scvking, Are you in the Santa Clarita area?

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   scvking Reply:
   October 26th, 2010 at 11:11 am

   @SPIDEY35,
   hence the SCV

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   SPIDEY35 Reply:
   October 26th, 2010 at 11:31 am

   @scvking, Just checking neighbor.Never know what things may stand for.

   

   scvking Reply:
   October 26th, 2010 at 11:45 am

   @SPIDEY35,
   Just kidding, and you are certainly right about that.

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10. Shakes says:

    October 26, 2010 at 7:27 am

    While the video is hard to make out, this brings up a more interesting question: Should the refs be allowed to use instant replay to determine the true nature of a hit to the head penalty that has already been called on the ice (i.e. if it’s not called by a reef, you wouldn’t retroactively penalize in a game)?

    I hate the idea of games/flow being delayed because of off-ice reviews BUT if the penalty is so stiff (5min major + game misconduct) and can alter the course of the game, it makes sense to get it right. At least things like suspensions, etc can be determined by the league after the game with the benefit of replay, but in each game the damage is already done.

    More importantly, just wait until the playoffs when a game and therefore a series may shift because of one wrong call.

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    scvking Reply:
    October 26th, 2010 at 8:00 am

    @Shakes,
    I understand where you are coming from—delay the game a few minutes to see if Brown should be disqualified for the remainder. It is a serious idea to consider.

    For me, I believe that we are in the initial stage of a process to discourage the Cooke’s, Kronwall’s and Phaneuf’s (etc.) from injuring players. As it currently stands, the policy is to encourage refs to make the call this way, where a Brown gets sent off and the league will determine what (if anything)should be done. I think it is a fair way to go about it, although there will be some unfairness.

    I look at it this way…I would much rather see a Brown lose half a game then to see a Kopi lose a month, season or career. That is where we were headed, and now we can hope this policy (flawed as it is) works.

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    Shakes Reply:
    October 26th, 2010 at 8:06 am

    @scvking,
    Totally agree with you on that. For every iffy call that may go against us, our guys get the same protection. The tweaking through the season/seasons will hopefully remove some of the gray area but even if it’s not perfect (and nothing ever is), I’d still have the rules aim to protect our assets than put them at risk.

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    DesertKing Reply:
    October 26th, 2010 at 8:36 am

    @Shakes,

    Yuo have someone in the war room in Toronto looking at every goal, why not add one more person to look at serious hits of this type? Give them the power to make a decision as to immediate action during the game but still give the league the ability to over rule the official down the road if further review warrants it. It would not extend the length of the game since there are a minimal number of these hits during each game day and the goal reviews are usually done before the faceoff. As the system currently stands, the status of a goal is considered more importnat than the safety of the players.

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11. TB says:

    October 26, 2010 at 7:28 am

    Its all about how quickly the guy gets up. That right there tells you he was not hit in the head. If he was…the stretcher woulda been rolled out. Done.

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12. Dan says:

    October 26, 2010 at 7:38 am

    You can’t argue with the ref for making that call, given the speed of the play and him being as far away from the hit as he was. No supplemental disciplline needed, and his game miscounduct should be rescinded.

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    Gary Reply:
    October 26th, 2010 at 11:45 am

    @Dan,: ditto

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13. Sparman says:

    October 26, 2010 at 8:03 am

    It’s shoulder to shoulder and glances up to the head. It looked like Miettinen was dropping his head at the time of contact.
    Bad call IMHO.

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14. Katy Perry says:

    October 26, 2010 at 8:06 am

    Too bad Brown was ejected last night. It looked like he was feeling it. The hit right before this one was AWESOME.

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    SPIDEY35 Reply:
    October 26th, 2010 at 8:27 am

    @Katy Perry,
    I heard from xm home ice this morning that-that hit was in question too.

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15. KC23 says:

    October 26, 2010 at 8:10 am

    Easily understandable call, but it obviously is a bad call.

    I think these hits should be reviewable as it has a major penalty has too big an impact on the game to rely on real time eye balls of the refs.

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16. Dazed N Confused says:

    October 26, 2010 at 8:15 am

    Sooooo jsut let them walk right in and shoot on goal. I like the fact they are trying to protect the players from hits to the head. How can you controll not only how you hit but predict how low the players head goes when he takes a shot. The hit was from the side and when he receives the puck he is looking in the same direction that Brown is coming from. It also looked like Brown did not use full force. Two 5 min mahors in two games and I feel that both calls were wrong.

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17. Christian T says:

    October 26, 2010 at 8:19 am

    I’m OK with on ice officials err’ing on the side of caution. It is really important for the league to take on the concussion problem and to make players responsible for their hits is the only way. If after watching replays the league decides it was dirty and a player is suspended then we know it was an illegal hit. If no suspension than it was a case where the ref’s were not sure. This in the long run will save careers. Every team will have to deal with five minute majors until the players learn to keep elbows and shoulders away from heads.
    It wont take the hitting out of the game but it might lessen the dangerous hits.

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    Dazed N Confused Reply:
    October 26th, 2010 at 8:25 am

    @Christian T, Then why did they seem to miss the hit on DD and out of those three calls DD was the only one injured. I don’t think they are trying to put us in a bad situation but DD clearly did not have the puck, was not looking, and was drilled from the blind side. No call and nothing the the NHL either.

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18. SPIDEY35 says:

    October 26, 2010 at 8:25 am

    It’s a tough call, things happen so fast. I’m not saying that I agree or disagree with what had happened. The thing that gets me is towards the end of the game with the Kings in the Wild end with the puck up against the boards, a Wild player is giving elbow shots to the head of a Kings player. Wasn’t happy about that and no call. If the league is going to review Browns hit, they should take a look at that too.
    I’m just sayin

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    scvking Reply:
    October 26th, 2010 at 9:17 am

    @SPIDEY35,
    Saw it too, Burns elbowing Lokti. Not exactly atypical of Burns.

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19. mrbrett7 says:

    October 26, 2010 at 8:31 am

    I completely understand why McCauley made the call. Officiating hockey is probably the toughest officiating job of any sport on the planet.

    It happened fast, he saw his head snap back, bang, must have been a hit to the head. Game, set, match.

    I have two problems with the rule, well, three.

    1. It was written with a knee jerk reaction, therefore, there was ZERO thought given to how it is to be administered on the ice. Officials have zero leeway, and last night is an obvious example if a MAJOR flaw in the rule. This is hockey, it’s a physical sport, and guys WILL GET HIT.

    2. The referee who made the call didn’t even have the right angle to see the play…all he saw was the head snap back.

    3. This reminds me of playing in a beer league now. I have a guy coming against me, and I let him run into me and get called for roughing. I ask the ref, am I supposed to just let him go by? No, your never going to do that. What Brown did (and I’m sorry, Kronwall as well, that hit was legal), were completely clean hits.

    This is hockey. At the NHL level, if you haven’t learned by now if you put your head down to look at the puck, that your going to get nailed, then, your never going to learn. I’s hockey. Sometimes, guys WILL get hurt. It happens. It’s the most physical game on the planet. We must allow these guys to actually play the game without hesitatng because the moron they are about to hit just put their head down 1/2 a second before your going to hit them.

    You purposely hit them in the head, targeting and aiming for it? It’s obvious? You get suspended for at minimum 1 season. Don’t pussy foot around.

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20. blueliner says:

    October 26, 2010 at 8:37 am

    Clean hit.

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21. kylecliffordfan says:

    October 26, 2010 at 8:38 am

    Where was the call on the late hit on Clifford by Staubiz? Westie and Clifford looked like they wanted to take the law in their own hands and give him a beating. Too bad his gloves were glued on..

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22. m says:

    October 26, 2010 at 8:39 am

    That was shoulder to shoulder. The head was not struck by Brown at all. I agree with what Jones and Olczyk were saying – the refs call a penalty on the ice because it happened so fast, so you can understand the penalty called. Brown’s elbow was tucked in the whole time, and it didn’t even fly up like you see in many checks. I could tell that from replays last night.
    Clearly the game’s announcers disagreed claiming Brown was targeting the head with an elbow… and they are still wrong today.

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    SPIDEY35 Reply:
    October 26th, 2010 at 10:26 am

    @m, Totally agree with the elbow tucked in. Nowhere do you see Browns elbow fly out as if trying to finish a check with an elbow.

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23. sandman says:

    October 26, 2010 at 8:41 am

    VS showed a different angle during the intermission. Even without my Kings goggles, it looks like a clean hit.

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24. BakoCAkingsCondorsGuy says:

    October 26, 2010 at 8:51 am

    IMHO–Clean hit.

    Hittee bounced back up off the ice like jumping on a trampoline, unhurt.

    Hitter has already been punished–ejected, with 5 minute major penalty.

    Hitter has a reputation as a tough-but-clean hitter.

    No conclusive video evidence that the hit targeted the head.

    –No suspension necessary/no further punishment warranted.

    –On top of that, Kings came back, killed the penalty and won the game, on the road, minus their captain…

    It doesn’t get any better than that.

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25. jdm77 says:

    October 26, 2010 at 9:01 am

    It is somewhat interesting to note that Mietinen is skating somewhat laterally and somewhat towards where Brown is coming from. Then when he received the pass, he turned away from Brown to take the shot, thus making the play look more like a blindside hit then it really was. If you are on the boards and you see a player coming to check you, you turn towards the glass and he hits you, is that boarding?

    Mietinen or the rest of the Wild players didn’t seem to have a problem with the hit.

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26. BrokeKingsFan says:

    October 26, 2010 at 9:12 am

    clearly a shoulder to shoulder hit! No doubt about it! I watched the game on VS and like Rich i cant believe that they would say clearly a hit to the head, thats the kind of hits the NHL is trying to get rid of blady blady blah…… they obviously were not watching the Kings game last night if thats how they feel about it.Even after extensive replays they still wouldnt admit it was a clean hit.

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    fsd1 Reply:
    October 26th, 2010 at 2:05 pm

    @BrokeKingsFan, agree 100% see below

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27. PP says:

    October 26, 2010 at 9:35 am

    Three things.
    1. Yes, looks like no harm done
    2. The TSN highlight reel does show brown making shoulder to head contact, DB guilty for that, according to the new rules.
    3. The rules specifically state that hits must be made in a north/south fashion. It is clear from the video that DB went east/west and is guilty. DB performed the kind of hit the league is trying to eliminate from the game.

    Sorry but that is what the video shows.

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    Rainman Reply:
    October 26th, 2010 at 1:43 pm

    @PP, I concur about the shoulder to head contact. This hit appeared equally as bad as Shane Doan’s recent hit on Dan Sexton, which resulted in a three game suspension to Doan.

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    fsd1 Reply:
    October 26th, 2010 at 2:04 pm

    @PP, sorry but no it doesn’t, shoulder to shoulder, elbow down, not sure how come you can see a headshot and not one analyst on tv could either between periods or on nhl live. besides, had there been contact to the head he would have been suspended, you know that.

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28. Bogey says:

    October 26, 2010 at 10:10 am

    The high probability of getting head shot calls wrong (see Kris Letang) coupled with the repercussions of getting the calls wrong (five minute major + ejection) warrants that these calls be video reviewed.

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29. chukrocks says:

    October 26, 2010 at 10:17 am

    I bet Eric Lidros wishes that rule was in effect when Scott Stevens laid him out in the playoffs. haha.

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30. royalmonarchs says:

    October 26, 2010 at 3:43 pm

    Francois St. Laurent , was always the Monarchs nemesis when he was officiating our games in the AHL, which most times left us scratching our heads as to whether he saw the same things we did on the ice, and now it seems he has followed suit now that he is in the NHL , with the call against Brown .. i understand what the league is trying to do , but that was a shoulder to shoulder hit , completely within the rules, the penalty should be rescinded.. is this how it is going to be in the league now? Is this Hockey or the NO Hit League .

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31. FM3 says:

    October 26, 2010 at 3:47 pm

    Same here….understand the call, dont understand why the announcers didnt look at it closer before making a judgement.

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