By now most people have seen the replay of Boston Bruin power forward Milan Lucic bowling over Buffalo goaltender Ryan Miller far outside the crease, which was not suspendible but set the hockey world a buzz. As a former goaltender, I believe that all goalies should be fair game if they want to leave the crease area to play the puck. That's a risk you choose to take skating out there to make the play. Stay in your net and you don't risk a collision, skate out to play the puck and you might get hit. It is completely fair. The hit shouldn't even have been a penalty. Where does it say in the rules that goalies can skate out to the face off dot to play the puck and can't be touched? Goalies are protected in the crease, not outside of it.
That being said, I have no objection to the Buffalo players responding to the hit with fisticuffs. They knocked down your goalie so the appropriate move is to show your displeasure with physical violence. This is hockey!
By the way, the announcers in this game completely over-reacted to the play as if it were some deadly sin that deserved a harsh punishment. "Attempt to injure"??? You could almost say that of any hit. Then what's funny is one of the announcers who was decrying how despicable this was and did not belong in hockey, then goes on to encourage retribution via Buffalo running Boston's goalie. Good call guy! This is a terrible act and needs to be purged from the game, so let's have the other team go do the exact same thing... Jesus Christ, what a f**king nightmare...
I agree with your comments. If a goalie leaves his crease to play the puck then he should be fair game as if he were a skater. The interviews with cry baby Miller indicate that he feels he should be able to wander at will and not be touched. If you don't want the contact Miller stay in your crease and if Lucic hits you inside your crease then he should be penalized accordingly.
ReplyDeleteYou know why goalies cant be hit? Because goalies have padding in only the front. None on the sides and back. Causeing those areas to be varniable. Plus wearing all that equipment doesnt help, most goalie who get hit fall awakwardly most of the time hitting their head. Which brings me to the helmet. It is loose because it helps absorb the impact of the puck, spreading it accross the helmet. If a goalies helmet comes off, awakwardly falls to the groud, hits his head, now you have an injured goalie (most important player on the team) injured. Hitting the goalie isnt probable. 80% of the time when goalies get hit they get hurt. Sinse there is only oh what about 60 goalies in the NHL, They have to watch out for them.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, There is a penilty for hitting a goalie anywhere (Rule 69) and goalies are only not aloud to pass the center ice red line. (Unless going to the bench) so to your first paragraph, there is a rule agianst hitting a goalie outside of the crease.
Goalies shouldn't be hit because they are simply to valuable.
OH! By the way, he only got a charging penilty, which is what he should have gotten either way.