HARTFORD, Conn – No one – repeat no one – enjoyed/enjoys tough, physical, fan-pleasing hockey more than Kevin Dineen.
The former Hartford Whalers star right wing/captain, now coach of the Portland Pirates, thrived on the kind of play, earning endless plaudits from Connecticut fans and respect throughout the hockey community.
But Dineen sees a bad trend developing in the game he loves. And you need go no farther than the Pirates-Connecticut Whale game on Saturday night in which neither team backed down, jabbing at the opposition was commonplace and hits often ferocious. It hardly seemed appropriate behavior on Boy Scouts Night at the XL Center.
“It was a great game and hugely disappointing,” Whale coach Ken Gernander said after a heart-breaking 3-2 loss on Derek Whitmore’s power-play goal with 7.5 seconds left after an interference penalty on Dale Weise.
But Dineen expressed concern about the direction of the game.
“I thought there were some marginable hits on both sides,” Dineen said. “Hits are one thing, but blows to the head are really dangerous and getting too common.”
Boston Bruins officials and fans would emphatically agree with Dineen, one of their major antagonists during his playing days, after former Wolf Pack center Marc Savard took injurious hits from the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Matt Cooke and Deryk Engelland.
Cooke’s blindside hit on Savard on March 7 knocked Savard out for the remainder of the regular season, then he returned for a first-round loss to the Philadelphia Flyers but was plagued by post-concussion syndrome and missed the first 23 games of this season. The hit led the NHL to outlaw blindside hits to the head, but Cooke didn’t receive any suspension. Then on Jan. 15, Engelland smashed Savard into the boards with a forearm to the mouth that left the feisty center “woozy” but he also didn’t’ receive a suspension.
Then on Jan. 22, Savard sustained a “moderate” concussion when he was slammed face-first into the boards by former teammate Matt Hunwick in a 6-2 victory over the Avalanche in Denver. Bruins coach Claude Julien called it a clean hit, but Savard is out indefinitely resting at his home in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, his season and career very much in question.
The NHL’s marquee player and leading scorer, Sidney Crosby of the Penguins, had to miss the NHL All-Star festivities this weekend after being out the last nine games with a concussion sustained when he was slammed into the boards head-first by Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman on Jan. 5. Crosby is feeling “a little bit better,” but it’s not known when he will return.
Penguins general manager Ray Shero had a terrific line when he said he supports “at least exploring” banning all hits to the head.
“We are a league where you can accidently hit a guy in the head with your shoulder and not be penalized,” Shero told USA Today. “But if you clear a puck out of your zone and it accidently goes in the stands they give you two minutes. Does that make sense?”
Last week, the Rangers sent down defenseman Michael Del Zotto and forwards Dale Weise, Evgeny Grachev, Kris Newbury, Chad Kolarik and Brodie Dupont. They all played in games Friday and Saturday, and then Del Zotto, Grachev and Newbury were called up Sunday and practiced with the Rangers on Monday in preparation for Tuesday night’s game at Madison Square Garden against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Newbury and Grachev are expected to play alongside Rangers captain/Trumbull native Chris Drury, while Del Zotto might watch as former Wolf Pack wing Ryan Callahan (hand) and defenseman Dan Girardi (rib cage) will return. Wing Brandon Dubinsky (stress fracture in left foot), another former Wolf Pack player, also might return, and forward Vinny Prospal (knee) is on track to make his season debut Thursday night at home against the New Jersey Devils. Center Erik Christensen is shooting for Feb. 11 against the Atlanta Thrashers, while Ruslan Fedotenko isn’t expected back until the middle of the month.
“It’s good to get the guys on the ice,” Rangers coach John Tortorella told the New York media after practice. “Cally (Callahan) does everything for us. He’s one of our leaders. I give our team a lot of credit because I was most worried when he was went out because I wasn’t sure how they would react because he means so much. He’s important in the (locker) room and on the ice.”
As for the Whale call-ups, Tortorella said: “We’ll have to see if Del Zotto gets in, but he has played really well in Hartford. I like Newbury’s grit and hopefully he can win some faceoffs. Grachev has played much better (in Hartford), but it hasn’t translated here yet (he is pointless in eight games). Now he has to protect pucks and score some goals. Weise played well, too, but we can’t take everybody.”
Story by Bruce Berlet of the Connecticut Whale
Comment@prohockeynews.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.