fixed.

 

Ludas, we have this charming young stud.

 

Nice! Haven't heard much about him, hope he's doing well for you guys.

 

He's doing quite well actually. I do agree we need MOAR Swedes! All of my favorite players are Swedes. Trade some of the Canadiens...

 

So here's a question for all you hockey nuts:

How was the hit on Mason Raymond legal? His head was between the legs of Boychuk, then Boychuk proceeded to slam him as hard as he could into the boards (not the glass). Now he has a fractured vertebrae and is out for 3-4 months (at the least). If I had to choose, I'd say Boychuk's hit was more malicious than Rome's hit on Horton. I'd much rather take Horton's hit personally than Raymond's hit.

I'm not an expert on the rules, but when I saw the hit and the many replays of it, I thought Raymond was in such an awkward position that Boychuk shouldn't have been allowed to slam him that hard into the boards (especially when the boards have no forgiveness compared to the glass). Has the NHL just not seen a hit like this before and thus had no rules to prevent this type of injury? Why wouldn't Raymond be considered defenseless with his head and body in that awkward position? Boychuk gave 100% on that check into the boards despite the awkwardness, and that's what irks me.

 

My opinion. The head wasn't the principle point of contact and both players hit the boards at an awkward position. Boychuk's momentum was traveling while he was in an awkward position and Raymond exposed himself also in an odd position. It was one of those plays that looks like nothing but turns out to be very dangerous. Both players were together for the whole play. It would have been a much more serious matter if Boychuk took a run at him - which he didn't. Both players had momentum from battling for the puck. Both players also were moving - almost coasting - to the boards. A fluke play that unfortunately led to a bad injury. Nothing to even think twice about.

 

I see what you're saying, but from some of the better angles it seems to me that Boychuk extended his arms and pushed Raymond as hard as he could into the boards. They didn't both just coast into the boards during that last second, Raymond's impact was pretty intense due to that final push. I understand that it could have been 10 times worse had Boychuk had a run at him, but obviously it doesn't take much to injure someone from that position when you can push their butt/lower back into the boards using their shoulders. It creates the accordion effect on your back, and Raymond is lucky that he's not paralyzed.

 

I don't feel he was trying to do that at all and the NHL realizes that. If anything the Canucks are under MUCH more scrutiny then the Bruins.

 

Yeah, I realize the Canucks are hated throughout the NHL (and most of it is brought upon themselves). I don't understand how H. Sedin can take multiple punches from Marchand, yet embellish hits when others touch him. But Raymond hasn't been a sissy like some of the other Canucks, and I just think that injury could have or should have been prevented by some sort of NHL rule that prevents players from slamming someone into the boards when their head is in that awkward position.

While Rome's hit wouldn't have been as traumatic as Horton's injury was 7/8 times out of 10, Boychuk's hit on Raymond would be as traumatic or worse every time. I don't know the specifics from a medical standpoint about how much force it would take to cause spinal injuries from that particular position, but these guys are so big and strong that they're more than capable of making it happen.

YouTube - ‪Mason Raymond Injury - 2011 SCF Game 6 - [HD]‬‏

Around the 1:10 mark you can see how Boychuk lowers his body and drives forward (the rest of the angles don't show his arms very well and look more innocent, and the closeup from this side of the rink doesn't stay with the players at the time of impact unfortunately). Even the commentators know Boychuk "smashed" him.

 

I'm with you 100%. How the hell does that happen? I was thinking it during the game. Chara barely touched him a couple times and he acted like he had been shot but when Marchand punches him multiple times in the face he just try's to turn away. As for the hit, the NHL is the most physical and violent sports league and it comes with the territory. As long as it wasn't extremely dirty or over the top (which it wasn't) the NHL doesn't investigate it.