What does everyone think of that hit? That is the second time he has put someone on a stretcher.

I watched the replay at least 10 times. It was a good hit. Eaves buried his head, 90% of the contact was body to body, and I bet the concussion was a 'cous contra cous' concussion- i.e. it was from Eaves head snapping back rather than a blow to the head...

Good hit, no penalty, no supplemental discipline....

Pretty much. My response when the hit happened live was that it was dirty, but the replay shows it was clean. Like you said, he didn't even hit his head.

It's not dirty, it's completely clean, and within the rules.

It's unfortunate that hits to the head are legal, but it's Eaves problem for keeping his head down.

Army is 180 pounds, he's a beast!

I have a Colby Armstrong bobblehead doll so I'm a fan.

You're obviously talking with all of his equipment on.....soaked in water, right?

so what does everyone think of him in general? if, hypothetically, you owned him in an AHL-type pool, at a reasonable, but not excellent contract, would you resign him to a 5-year contract? Is he likely to be a guy who puts up close to a point per game in the next 5 years, or is he stuck on the penalty kill and behind all those talented Pens and not likely to be a big points guy.

Should be suspended for deliberately taking runs at Emery.

Riiiiiiiiight....... 'cos that's a suspendable offense.....

Probably not... but targetting key players like that with illegal plays is just plain wrong.

I think Colby Armstrong is a typical example of what is wrong with the NHL right now.

Armstrong hit on Letowski

Armstrong on Koivu

Armstrong on Carter

If Chris Neil wasn't so convinced that he's a goal scorer, he would have realized that his role is to make Armstrong understand that running Emery is not polite...

It was a perfectly clean hit, and I have no doubt that Patrick Eaves will say so once someone asks him.

You keep your head up in hockey, they teach you that when you're still skating around with folding chairs.

They also teach you that checking is a tool to take the puck away from somebody. It should not be used as a means to target someone in an attempt to injure. I don't mind bodychecking, but Colby Armstrong is an opportunist who is looking to injure opponents. He shows a complete lack of respect.

I was actually just thinking a similar thing after watching one of the Ottawa players (Schubert?) level one of the Pittsburgh players late in the game. He got him from behind, but it wasn't an overly dirty yet. And yet, when one of the Pens, and not a fighter, grabs him and wanted to drop the gloves, the Ottawa player backed away.

All it was was one of the Pens players defending his teammate. The Sens player wasn't physically overmatched, and he wasn't a star player by any means. And yet he still refused to get involved with 3 minutes left in the game. To me, that is something seriously wrong. Because of guys like that, teams have to employ guys like McGrattan and Belak, who are nothing but boxers, and take up roster spots from genuinely talented players. With players like that, hockey is nothing but fancy skating with a boxing sideshow.

p.s. according to Kara Yorio, the Hawks could deal the #1 pick. Gruven, is that even possible? Is my hatred of Ms Yorio justified, or does she occasionally have some clue what she's talking about.

Was I the only one who saw Eaves heading for the front of Pittsburgh's net with the puck on his stick? It's not like Armstrong tattooed him out of the normal course of play, the guy had the puck and then he didn't anymore. I don't believe for a second that Armstrong meant to hurt him, he meant to dish out a big hit and in doing so Eaves got hurt because he had his head down. Anyone who saw Colby's face after he saw that Eaves wasn't getting up couldn't possibly think he was looking to injure a fellow player.

Big hits are part of the game, and whether they'll admit it or not, the NHL will get a lot of mileage out of that one (same way they got a lot of mileage out of Brian Campbell vs RJ Umberger last season).

Scott Stevens wasn't looking to hurt the guys cutting into the middle either I guess. It is possible to check a guy without going for the kill. Armstrong has shown in the past that he is always looking for the big hit on that play.

This thread got retarded.

There is nothing wrong with the Armstrong hit. It's as clean a bodycheck as you will see in the NHL, and so are all of the ones linked above. Saying he's an opportunist is a joke. Hitting is a part of the game, and if you can't keep your head up, that's your own problem. Furthermore, hits like that help the Pens defensively because now Sens players know they have to keep their head up for the freight train coming. And, he's not a big guy. He's like 5'11" 180, tops, from memory, anyways.

Furthermore, as Danny mentioned about the Ottawa player, after hitting Scuderi from behind, he goes and runs and hides, etc, while EVERY SINGLE TIME Armstrong hits someone CLEAN, he is always ready to drop the gloves if he has to.

****************

Now, the run on Emery, on the other hand, did cross the line. He definitely didn't have time to get out of the way once he took the shot, but he should have made an attempt, rather than run him as hard as possible.

Where did I say the hit was against the rules?

The Schubert hit on Scuderi is another example of the lack of respect. And Murray has instructed his players not to fight when they have a lead late in the game.

How do you feel about the Radulov hit on Bernier?

So, a Colby poke check is the proper play there?

I'd say Colby's job is a guy that's supposed to get under the other teams skin but I don't think he is a dirty player. The hit yesterday was clean. Hockey is a rough sport and if you put your head down like that you're going to get hurt. Kids are taught that at a very young age. It's unfortunate that it happend and I doubt Colby felt good about it but it is still part of the game.

There was no intent to injure but if the Sens are going to finish their checks how can the Pens not be expected to do the same thing.

Chris Neil is an *** by the way.

If this is the case, Murray should be coaching Sale and Pelletier, and not a league where fighting is considered part of the game.

I did not think it was that dirty. A penalty yes maybe but a suspension no. It looked like Bernier never even hit his head on the boards/glass. My guess is that Bernier was playing with a bad back/ribs or neck or something in that area for him to react the way he did.

Those are all perfect hits.

Thanks for stopping by and missing the point.

No no, he got the point perfectly; he just doesn't realize it.

The fact those were all legal hits is a typical example of what is wrong with the NHL right now. The fact he can beeline right into a goalie and get two minutes (which is coincidentally the same as a player accidentally flipping a puck into the stands) is a typical example of what is wrong with the NHL right now.

"But what I don't understand is the league's take on other situations by comparison. At one end of the spectrum, a player gets two minutes in the box if he uses his stick to lift another player's stick and the stick happens to touch the other player's gloves. But you don't get a penalty if you lower your shoulder and drive it into another player's head, knock him out unconscious and have him carried off the ice?"

Hockey is a rough game. Sure I don't like to see people get hurt but when guys are going 100mph out there sometimes things happen. And don't even try to say this intent to injure thing. Colby isn't a head hunter. He's a guy that has to make up for a lack of talent with an abundance of heart.

Yeah, hockey is a rough sport...I've heard that argument a million times, but why isn't it an acceptable argument when a guy gets an accidental stick in the face?

If you look at those hits you will see that they are very similar and would seem to indicate that Colby Armstrong IS a headhunter in the sense that Scott Stevens was a headhunter.

When's the last time you saw a guy get branded as a dirty player due to an accidental stick to the face?

If Eaves had kept his head up, the hit would have been nothing more than routine contact. He is more to blame for the injury than Colby Armstrong is.

And what about him deliberative running Emery 2-3 times in this series / end of season?

I don't have a huge issue with the legality of the hit (which ironically you jumped all over Neil for a similar hit..). Though to be honest all of this shoulder to the head hits will kill the game if all of the star players are out with concussions.

Eaves had the puck taped to his stick when he was hit head on. Drury had passed it off to a teammate already when he was hit from the side.

Not similar at all.

I didn't actually see him running Emery (not debating that it happened, I just didn't see it), so for me that's a separate issue. I don't want to see players getting hurt, period, but the game will suffer if players can't put a big hit on someone when the opportunity arises. The issue remains that Eaves got hurt because he had his head down. Same way Kariya and Lindros got hurt by Stevens, same way Umberger got hurt by Campbell. If they had been paying attention to their surroundings when they had the puck on their stick, it wouldn't have happened. Drury got hurt when Chris Neil went out of his way to hit him in the open ice well after he had passed the puck. Maybe my view of things makes me a homer, but that's my take.

I never branded Armstrong a dirty player. He is playing within the rules. My argument is that there is a lack of respect in this league.

Players are taught since minor hockey to finish their check. Neil finished his check against Drury. It wasn't a late hit, but it was another hit that was excessive and shows a complete lack of respect. This is my point; Neil can check Drury on that play and Armstrong can check Eaves on the other play, but there is no need to go for the kill.

I hear ya, and I agree in principal with your message: HOWEVER... in THIS circumstance, Armstrong hit Eaves WHILE Eaves had the puck. His previous transgressions were after the puck had left, as was Neil's hit on Drury. I think that headshots of any kind should be flat out illegal. I think players should be suspended for a head shot AFTER the puck has left. BUT..... and it's a big but, because, as I said, I agree with your principal on this: a hit to separate a player from the puck (NOT INCLUDING A HEAD SHOT) should be allowed. This was not a head shot, and it was to a player still in possession of the puck. Hard hit? Yes. Disrespectful in the same way as the other hits you mentioned? No....

"I don't want to see hitting taken out of the game, I love hitting in hockey, but if someone puts his shoulder into a player's face, if he puts anything -- an arm, an elbow, a glove -- I think that player should get a penalty. Definitely, it should be a penalty. We are having players getting knocked unconscious before they even hit the ice and carried off on stretchers. How can that be legal? When did hitting someone in the head with your shoulder or any part of your body become part of the rules? Anything above the neck, it's wrong.

"Hey, I got hit a lot when I played and I didn't get hit in the head with checks. Players didn't always hit like that. To me, that's not part of bodychecking. I mean, don't you have to be responsible for your actions? If you hit a guy in the face with your stick by accident, you're going to get a penalty. Two minutes, four minutes, five minutes, something. If you go to bodycheck a guy and you hit him in the face or head, and injure him, that's legal? That's fair? That's not a penalty? I'm sorry, I don't think that is right. It should be a penalty."


-- Bobby Orr

Does anyone have a link to the hit?

NM...found it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gTisKFrh4A

I understand your point Dale, but don't say Armstrong is what's wrong with the league. Say that the NHL rulebook is wrong, don't disrespect a quality player, playing within the rules.

Here's my original post...




As you can see I said he was an example of what is wrong. I don't think you'd take it so personal if he wasn't a Pittsburgh Penguin.

That's possible.

I also met him a couple times and he's super cool, lol...

I just remember him running his SUV (Hummer, I think) into Ryan Malone's while Malone was blocking the exit signing autographs after the morning skate, lol.

No offense Dale, but I don't think your opinion on the matter would be as pronounced if not for the Koivu hit either.

Actually, I didn't see that Koivu hit until after I went searching for the links.

And I'll tell it like it is no matter who is involved. If Montreal sucks ballz then Montreal sucks ballz..I'm not gonna lie because they're my team.


serge

Fair enough

<grin>

What do you think after seeing it Dale?

- Eaves had his head down

- Armstrong was predatory

- I'm still not sure if his head snapped back from a head shot or the sudden stop (I've watched it over and over again and it was starting to feel like the NHL's Zapruder film so I stopped)

- Armstrong broke no rule

- Somebody is going to get killed

- I'm wondering if the ruling on Radulov would have been different had the hit happened in open ice instead of on the boards.

- I think I may include at least 1 Wiki link in all my posts.

Penguins Notebook: Ottawa's Murray admires Armstrong's play
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07107/778593-61.stm

Ottawa coach Bryan Murray sounds as if he's willing to put a price on Colby Armstrong's head.

If Armstrong ever becomes available as a free agent, anyway.

Armstrong has been a major irritant for the Senators in the first three games of their opening-round playoff series against the Penguins -- he knocked Patrick Eaves out of Game 3 Sunday with a wicked check, skated into goalie Ray Emery at least once and has played the body aggressively since the series began -- but Murray said yesterday he not only accepts Armstrong's play, but approves of it.

"The only guys you ever get mad at on the other team are the guys who try real hard and play real competitively, and Colby plays real competitively for them," Murray said. "When we're out scouting and looking for players, those are the guys we're looking for."

Armstrong reiterated yesterday that he was only looking to "finish my check" when he apparently caught Eaves not looking and laid him out with a shoulder to the chin.

"I just try to play the game hard and finish my checks, like anyone else does," Armstrong said. "You don't want to see anyone get hurt, so hopefully he's all right, but I have to play hard, play in-your-face."

Although Eaves -- the younger brother of former Penguins prospect Ben Eaves, Armstrong's one-time teammate in Wilkes-Barre -- was taken off the ice on a stretcher and will not play in Game 4 at 7:08 p.m. today at Mellon Arena, he appears to have suffered no major injuries.

Eaves' place in the lineup tonight will be taken by Oleg Saprykin, a virtual nonfactor for the Senators since being acquired from Phoenix at the trade deadline.

The Penguins picked up rugged winger Georges Laraque from the Coyotes the same day, and it's hardly out of the question that he'll play tonight.

Penguins coach Michel Therrien made no secret that he was disappointed that Laraque didn't have more of an impact -- literally -- in Game 1, and sat him the next two games. He was noncommittal about whether Laraque will dress tonight.

If he does play, no one should be surprised if Ottawa swing man Christoph Schubert turns up in his crosshairs. The Penguins believe Schubert threw out his left leg while closing in on Evgeni Malkin in Game 1 and made potentially devastating knee-to-knee contact, and he drove defenseman Rob Scuderi head-first into the glass with a hit from behind late in Game 3.

"Certainly, I didn't think it was a real good hit," Scuderi said. "And after I saw it [on tape], I thought it was even worse than I initially thought. But fortunately, I'm not seriously damaged."

Scuderi declined to say whether he felt the hit was worthy of a major penalty -- or even a one-game suspension -- and said he believes Schubert simply is fulfilling the role in which he has been placed.

"I think he's just doing what they want him to do," Scuderi said. "That's going to be his job."

It could be a another nasty game tonight. Lets just hope the Pens have their heads on straight and won't play into the Sens hands if they decide to play dirty tonight.