The rivalry’s back and people are losing fingers. Okay so when the versus announcer shouted about a finger getting ripped off by Zetterberg, he was talking about a beautiful steal off of Jeff Finger, but we can dream, right? So for those of you who didn’t see the most bittersweet game of the year, you’ve undoubtedly now heard about the Nicklas Lidstrom crisis. Barely six minutes into the first, Ian Laperrierre took our prized captain into the boards in what appeared to be a relatively clean hit, except for a rising elbow. Lids crumpled and then struggled to return to play. He was helped off the ice and I’m pretty sure everyone watching was thinking concussion with how dazed he looked. Shockingly, it was announced later in the game that he passed the concussion test with flying colors. When Chris Chelios came on for an interview in the intermission, he looked like he’d just been to a funeral. It appears, however, that the attack on Nick was just what this team needed to come together and kick some butt. Aaron Downey did his best Darren McCarty impression, chasing down Laperrierre not once, but twice, to deal out justice. I don’t know about you, but I loved seeing Babs get all huffy with Granato. Why don’t they ever put mikes on the coaches? I would have loved to know what words were being exchanged there. Though it was pretty fun trying to guess. Oh and for anyone who was wondering about our defensive depth going into the deadline - we pitched a shutout yesterday without our top 3 defensemen. Youngsters Derek Meech and Kyle Quincey stepped up and showed they can be counted on to carry the big minutes if necessary. Sure it was only one game, but it still left me feeling a lot more comfortable about our depth chart.
Honestly if it weren’t for the whole Lidstrom debacle, this game would have been more comforting than a warm cup of cocoa on a cold winter day. The Wings ended their losing streak, righted their powerplay, and wrestled a win from the jaws of the injury bug. All at the same time, they revived a treasured rivalry. Though the animosity may have dwindled away over the years, the cup of hate has just been refilled. The Wings do not like it when you hurt their captain. Period. If we see the Avs in the playoffs, I expect the mood to be testy at best. I can’t wait. I wonder if the sales of Downey jerseys just skyrocketed…
My confidence in Meech is definitely growing. I didn’t get to see his performance last night, but as far as endorsements go, it doesn’t get much better than earning this comment from the goalie you played in front of the whole night:
(via Helene St. James. The Freep’s looking pretty spiffy with that re-design, eh?)
“Meechy” lead the Wings’ defensemen in TOI with 24:26. I’m glad the Wings have such reliable youngsters who can step in at time like these.
If Nick’s injury turns out to be more serious than originally thought, I think the Wings need to go after a veteran somehow (Jaroslav Modry just went to Philly for a pretty low price). If he’s back in a week or two, though, I’m becoming more and more convinced that they’ll be just fine.
Some comments:
“Nicklas Lidstrom crisis”??
He’s out 7-10 days. Sheesh. A bit of an exaggeration, perhaps?
“he [Chelios] looked like he’d just been to a funeral”
more exaggeration…
“attack on Nick”
further exaggeration…
“Aaron Downey did his best Darren McCarty impression”
you cannot compare the Laperrierre hit to the Lemieux hit, at all…not even close to as dirty. Downey’s reaction wasn’t nearly as warranted as McCarty’s reaction. So again, an exaggeration…
“they revived a treasured rivalry…the cup of hate has just been refilled”
If that hit fills a “cup of hate” then the NHL has problems. Come on, plenty of times captains are checked by relatively clean hits. If you’ve watched non-Wings games this season you’ve seen this happen before, and pretty often. That Wings fans are playing it up as a dirty hit is just their wishing the rivalry was alive again like it used to be. This was NOT the Lemieux hit. Not even close.
Maybe you wrote this in the passion of the post-game, but a lot of this is just Much Ado About (Relatively) Nothing if you’re using the same scale of Lemieux hits and McCarty revenge. Lidstrom skated into the boards pretty awkward (on his own doing), and got caught. Laperrierre is no Lemieux…even if he did get some elbow in there.
video clip of The Hit (which I capitalize in jest, of course):
http://www.nhl.tv/team/launch.htm?hlg=20072008,2,900&event=COL20
Brian-
I believe the tone of the post was meant to be an exaggeration. I know for a fact that Sarah wrote this in response to the responses to the hit. You really need to lighten up and not take it so seriously. Haven’t you ever read anything at A2Y? Do you take those posts seriously, too? Because if you do, I bet you live in a world of criticism.
Brian,
By, “Crisis,” I was referring more to the panic that the hit caused among Wings fans than the hit itself. And as Megan pointed out, the tone of the post is not really meant to be dead serious.
Um… I don’t remember doing that… I just compared Downey to McCarty - i.e. he’s taking on the enforcer role.
You seem to be reading a lot into everything. I’m really not that upset about “The Hit” (nor do I think it mattered to Downey whether it was clean or not - the message would have been the same.), I just really enjoyed the feel of the game after that. Felt like the old days. Sure it was no “Fight Night in Detroit”, but it was far more intense than any other game these teams have played this season and it was nice to see it showing on and off the ice. I don’t think it’s far-fetched to imagine some of that emotion carrying over into the playoffs, but maybe I’m just a crazy dreamer.
If you read some of the Wings messages boards a lot of Wings fans reacted “ZOMG!!! What a cheap shot! Suspend Laperrierre for 20 games and let’s go after their captain too!” and thought it was 96/97 all over again. And they’re taking all these screenshots of the hit and showing it in slow motion and making it such a big deal.
Honestly, when I saw that hit in real time it looked innocent and that type of hit happens all the time. It was plenty clean. Lidstrom was off balance and fell into the boards awkwardly, which cannot be blamed on Laperrierre. I bet if you look at other hits in slow motion you can see some elbow in those hits, too. Big deal.
It’s hard to tell you’re joking around unless I know who’s writing it and possibly see them laughing hysterically as they write it. I suspect Megan has an advantage over me in that respect. And it’s not like you post that often so it’s tough to read into that - at first I thought Matt posted it so maybe that’s why I thought it was a straight forward piece. Sure I’ve read A2Y / Jes Golbez type posts and expect sarcasm from them…
Bottom line is, if you were joking, whatever. I know some Wings fans out there weren’t and then you can take that as a blanket reaction to them.
Give me a break, Brian. Please inform us of how we should react so that the next time Sakic’s head is run into the boards we know what to do so you’ll be happy. Please crawl back under the rock you game from.
Is interference not an infraction anymore?? Cause, uh, well, umm, oh forget it…..
Nick,
If you mean to imply that Brian is an Avs fan, you’re wrong. His point about message board reactions is valid, though I don’t see how it’s applicable to Sarah’s post. She captured the feeling of the moment well and certainly had me wishing I could see the game, if only in replay.
Brian,
I hope Wings can be forgiven if, for however brief a time, they thought something major had happened to a player long held the most important on the roster. Even now, there is some level of doubt as to the seriousness of the injury and in that case, some overreaction is to be expected.
When you hear of a hit that caused an injury, your first thought is naturally going to be that it had to have been dirty. That was certainly my expectation as I waited for a replay to be posted online. Of course, I was glad to see that it was not as violent a hit as I feared.
That said, I’m not quite sure how Laperriere’s hit can be called “plenty clean,” as use of the elbow is a key aspect of the definition of a dirty hit. As I wrote in my post on the incident, it looked innocent enough live and in real time. That’s because Lidstrom wasn’t four feet from the boards and sent headlong into them in a Laraque-on-Downie-type situation. So it’s not like we’re talking about an egregious boarding penalty.
However, the fact remains that Laperriere did use his elbow to make contact with Lidstrom’s head and, though the League often chooses to deny there is anything wrong with that, most people not in the sport’s “old boy’s club” tend to define hits to the head as dirty. Whether it’s common or not is irrelevant. A high crime rate does not mean it’s no longer crime. Without that elbow, it’s just a hard hit and probably one Lidstrom gets up from none the worse for the wear.
Was it a suspendable offense? No. But it was a clear show of disrespect to one of the League’s greats. Fans of teams without players of Lidstrom’s caliber may be offended by the notion that second- or third-rate players such as Laperriere should show some measure of respect for superstars, but the fact is an active Nick Lidstrom is better for the NHL than a Nick Lidstrom on the IR. Relatively few people would pay NHL ticket prices to see a team of Laperriere’s, but they pay to see one Lidstrom.
If you’re concerned that this will be blown up into some Naslund-Moore-Bertuzzi fiasco, I wouldn’t worry. Laperriere was dealt with in the accepted way and there isn’t any talk of retribution, except from the more vindictive fans.
WOW! Matt…you are a gifted writer and are to be commended for that post. I laud your skills regularly, but I am extremely impressed tonight. Thank you.
The respect issue is a deep one. Perhaps it is something that is being handled at the GM’s conferencek. I was startled and really disgusted when I heard a head coach of a professional sporting team applaud his player on national TV for laying out another player and causing injury. Suggesting that it is very rare to catch a skilled defenseman in a vulnerable position and thereby capitalizing on it and putting that player on the injury roster made me sick to my stomach.
If ANY Red Wing laid out ANY player and Mike Babcock suggested that it was an event to be proud of, I would burn every winged wheel in my possession and throw a brick through my television.
Again…I ask….when is the last time a Red Wing put a player out? I
really don’t know. I remember when it was common place for pre-Bowman players to put players on IR, but who have we done that to lately?