Connolly's nose

[SwampD]

He was coming up the boards chasing a puck. Before he could touch the puck, the defenseman was lining him up and Connolly knew it. Connolly put up his arm to brace for a hit, didn't try to hit the Lightning player and was armed head-first into the boards. Connolly was not in possession of the puck so at the least it was interference.

 

How did Connolly make himself vulnerable beyond a normal hockey play? There are other examples, but as carp points out, most commonly you see boarding not called when a player turns his back and almost invites a hit from behind into the boards.

There's your answer.

 

Like it or not, the way the rules are interpreted by the league and the on ice officials, they want you to fight for the puck (as we saw with the no call on Recchi/Kennedy in last years playoffs). That's just the way it is.

 

Maybe if the Sabres actually won some of those physical battles and stopped waiting for the puck to magically end up on their sticks, they wouldn't be sitting comfortably in the 12th spot.

[nfreeman]

It's a valid discussion of whether a penalty should have been called. What psychobabble? What the hell are you talking about.

 

Please -- spare yourself and everyone else and use the ignore feature. I use it to great effect!

Here's what I'm talking about: at the time I posted, there were 15 posts in this thread. 4 of them were separate posts by you criticizing Lindy. Furthermore, they were all making the same (weak) point: that Lindy didn't stick up sufficiently for TC. That is incessant psychobabble.

 

I will admit that I replied to the wrong post of yours (which was not one of the 4). However, I disagree with that one as well. I don't think it was a dirty hit.

 

I wanted to add my voice to the chorus of cheers for Connolly. It takes guts and special character to come back in the same game and play after you got your nosed smashed to the other side of your face. The guy obviously loves hockey but he's had the worst luck in Buffalo. I feel very bad for him...here's to Connolly. He's no tin man. :clapping:

I don't think a penalty should have been called. It was two guys fighting for the puck. One lost. I also think that Timmy did make himself vulnerable.

 

Also, Lindy complained to the ref for quite a long time afterward. There was no bus under throwing

As much as I've grown to despise Connolly for his heartless play I have to applaud him his fortitude in the aftermath of this particular play and for returning to play.

TC's problem, IMHO, hasn't been toughness. His repeated injuries have been a combination of bad luck and a body that isn't naturally built to take an NHL pounding. He blocks a ton of shots on the PK and has played hurt plenty of times. His problem, like the rest of the "top 6," has been long stretches of indifferent play.

[PASabreFan]

There's your answer.

 

Like it or not, the way the rules are interpreted by the league and the on ice officials, they want you to fight for the puck (as we saw with the no call on Recchi/Kennedy in last years playoffs). That's just the way it is.

 

Maybe if the Sabres actually won some of those physical battles and stopped waiting for the puck to magically end up on their sticks, they wouldn't be sitting comfortably in the 12th spot.

 

There was no "fight for a puck." The Lightning player totally ignored the puck in his quest to lay out Connolly.

 

Detective: "So you shot the lady in the head?"

 

Punk: "Yeah. She had her hand up trying to defend herself."

 

Detective: "Get outta here, scumbag."

 

It's always interesting to see how fans interpret things like this. The league pretty much has created a situation where fans have to make rules up. "That's not slashing, the guy was on one skate and his nose hair hasn't been trimmed!"

[SwampD]

There was no "fight for a puck." The Lightning player totally ignored the puck in his quest to lay out Connolly.

 

Detective: "So you shot the lady in the head?"

 

Punk: "Yeah. She had her hand up trying to defend herself."

 

Detective: "Get outta here, scumbag."

 

It's always interesting to see how fans interpret things like this. The league pretty much has created a situation where fans have to make rules up. "That's not slashing, the guy was on one skate and his nose hair hasn't been trimmed!"

Let's look at it another way (not that it's going to help). Let's say that on that hit, it was Thompson that went flying the other way, Tim then grabs the puck, feeds Gaustad right in front and they score. Would you say Connolly should have gotten an interference penalty? Me neither.

[PASabreFan]

Let's look at it another way (not that it's going to help). Let's say that on that hit, it was Thompson that went flying the other way, Tim then grabs the puck, feeds Gaustad right in front and they score. Would you say Connolly should have gotten an interference penalty? Me neither.

 

Miller would have stoned Gaustad. Before, or after, the goal. :)

 

Seriously, there was no energy to send Thompson flying the other way. This wasn't Recchi vs. Kennedy. But had Connolly nailed Thompson, it would have been a defensive move. Only Connolly was trying to play the puck. I don't think it would have been interference on Connolly.

 

The argument against boarding seems to be that Connolly should have tried to do that. When he didn't, he had made himself "vulnerable" or put himself into a "dangerous" position. I think that's a stretch.

[carpandean]

Only Connolly was trying to play the puck. I don't think it would have been interference on Connolly.

Connolly stopped trying to play the puck. Had he continued skating, he would have caught the puck on the boards and probably been crunched by Thompson. He saw Nate coming, stopped skating (the puck continued on without him) and braced into the hit. I don't think that it's on the same level as turning your back to another player in terms of "putting yourself in a vulnerable position", but I do think that his bracing for the hit, instead of continuing to skate on, made the hit worse than it would have been. It was more of bad luck situation than one where either player should have known the danger.

 

I will admit that my memory of the event of the time was more that he hit back than that he just braced, which it turns out was not exactly true. So, had they called Thompson for boarding, it would have been the opposite of what we have now: a call that could be supported, but that a lot of people would have argued was borderline and perhaps shouldn't have been called.

[SwampD]

Miller would have stoned Gaustad. Before, or after, the goal. :)

:lol:

 

Sorry, I have the flu and I'm mixing live TV while typing this. Whether or not Miller would have stopped him is a matter for another thread.

 

Seriously, there was no energy to send Thompson flying the other way. This wasn't Recchi vs. Kennedy. But had Connolly nailed Thompson, it would have been a defensive move. Only Connolly was trying to play the puck. I don't think it would have been interference on Connolly.

 

The argument against boarding seems to be that Connolly should have tried to do that. When he didn't, he had made himself "vulnerable" or put himself into a "dangerous" position. I think that's a stretch.

You keep saying something that is the heart of the matter, "Only Connolly was trying to play the puck." That's the problem. He should have been playing the man. This isn't a no-hit beer league. You have to play against other players and the rules, as currently interpreted, say that you are allowed to hit those players while trying to get to a puck.

[PASabreFan]

Connolly stopped trying to play the puck. Had he continued skating, he would have caught the puck on the boards and probably been crunched by Thompson. He saw Nate coming, stopped skating (the puck continued on without him) and braced into the hit. I don't think that it's on the same level as turning your back to another player in terms of "putting yourself in a vulnerable position", but I do think that his bracing for the hit, instead of continuing to skate on, made the hit worse than it would have been. It was more of bad luck situation than one where either player should have known the danger.

 

This is pretty reasonable. I would nitpick a few things. I don't think Connolly stopped trying to play the puck. He was almost there, reaching for it. I just think he became more concerned with saving his life. You might be right. A better thought might have been, "Feet, don't fail me now!"

 

And he didn't really stop skating. He was gliding. Semantics, yes.

[PASabreFan]

:lol:

 

Sorry, I have the flu and I'm mixing live TV while typing this. Whether or not Miller would have stopped him is a matter for another thread.

 

 

You keep saying something that is the heart of the matter, "Only Connolly was trying to play the puck." That's the problem. He should have been playing the man. This isn't a no-hit beer league. You have to play against other players and the rules, as currently interpreted, say that you are allowed to hit those players while trying to get to a puck.

 

Get well soon. Before you do, could you go sneeze on nfreeman in Brooklyn?

[carpandean]

And he didn't really stop skating. He was gliding. Semantics, yes.

He didn't stop moving (was not acted upon by sufficient external forced to stop movement), but did stop skating (moving his feet to generate forces through the contact of his skate with the ice that would cause movement.) Now, that's semantics. :thumbsup:

[shrader]

TC's problem, IMHO, hasn't been toughness. His repeated injuries have been a combination of bad luck and a body that isn't naturally built to take an NHL pounding. He blocks a ton of shots on the PK and has played hurt plenty of times. His problem, like the rest of the "top 6," has been long stretches of indifferent play.

 

I wouldn't say its "a body that isn't naturally built to take an NHL pounding". First of all, no body is designed that way. But anyway, the vast majority of his injury issues stemmed from those concussions. He tried to rush back from that second one before he was physically ready and that brought on the hip problem (correct me if I'm wrong on that injury type). The next injury he suffered was the broken rib from being hit by that freight train Tkachuk. No one was walking away from that hit in good shape, hard to call that a build issue. I don't have any clue where this year's groin injury happened, so I'll pass on that one. Then there's this latest nose break. Again, that has little to nothing to do with having a body for the game. At most, it's a mental thing if he did in fact stupidly try to put himself in a bad spot. Anyone taking that hit is going to need some facial reconstruction.

 

 

And as for the penalty/not a penalty discussion. I'd go 2 for boarding, but nothing more beyond that. I don't see anything calling for a suspension there.

[nfreeman]

I wouldn't say its "a body that isn't naturally built to take an NHL pounding". First of all, no body is designed that way. But anyway, the vast majority of his injury issues stemmed from those concussions. He tried to rush back from that second one before he was physically ready and that brought on the hip problem (correct me if I'm wrong on that injury type). The next injury he suffered was the broken rib from being hit by that freight train Tkachuk. No one was walking away from that hit in good shape, hard to call that a build issue. I don't have any clue where this year's groin injury happened, so I'll pass on that one. Then there's this latest nose break. Again, that has little to nothing to do with having a body for the game. At most, it's a mental thing if he did in fact stupidly try to put himself in a bad spot. Anyone taking that hit is going to need some facial reconstruction.

 

 

And as for the penalty/not a penalty discussion. I'd go 2 for boarding, but nothing more beyond that. I don't see anything calling for a suspension there.

Well, there was also:

 

- knee injury in 2005-06 (he missed 19 games that year),

- string of injuries in 2007-08 (he played 48 games that season AND 2008-09), and

- the foot injury at the end of last season,

 

plus this year's groin injury.

 

that's 4 seasons not including the concussion losses, the broken rib or the vaporized nose.

 

That's a lot of injuries.

[shrader]

Well, there was also:

 

- knee injury in 2005-06 (he missed 19 games that year),

- string of injuries in 2007-08 (he played 48 games that season AND 2008-09), and

- the foot injury at the end of last season,

 

plus this year's groin injury.

 

that's 4 seasons not including the concussion losses, the broken rib or the vaporized nose.

 

That's a lot of injuries.

 

-I'm not sure of the timing of the 05-06 injury. Early? Late?

-The string of injuries in 07-08 started with that hip issue, right? That's the initial rush right after the 2nd concussion.

-The foot injury was a slap shot to the foot. Those are such a fluke. One inch to the left and he's fine. I can't call that a body issue.

 

It's hard to ignore the numbers that show how he didn't miss a thing before that first concussion. They're still trying to research just how much damage they can cause. I'm not going to attempt to blame every single injury on a few shots to the head, but I think it's a safe bet that they did indeed play a role in some of it.

[Weave]

-I'm not sure of the timing of the 05-06 injury. Early? Late?

-The string of injuries in 07-08 started with that hip issue, right? That's the initial rush right after the 2nd concussion.

-The foot injury was a slap shot to the foot. Those are such a fluke. One inch to the left and he's fine. I can't call that a body issue.

 

It's hard to ignore the numbers that show how he didn't miss a thing before that first concussion. They're still trying to research just how much damage they can cause. I'm not going to attempt to blame every single injury on a few shots to the head, but I think it's a safe bet that they did indeed play a role in some of it.

 

How about, he somehow manages to frequently put himself in position to get injured and doesn't have the body to suistain those impacts without injury.

 

He gets hurt way too often for a guy that plays as soft as he does. Kaleta brings his own injuries on by his style of play. Connolly doesn't play hard enough to justify the injuries he receives. Impacts that injure Connolly manage to find him at a rate higher than other players. IMO it is a combo of Connolly putting himself in a position to be vulnerable to those hits and he is fragile. If either one of those 2 "things" are different, his injury rate is more on par with the rest of the league.

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

Just looked at the play for the first time. That collision happens 50 times a night in the NHL. What Connolly did is akin to a defenseman loafing on the chase back to try and draw an icing call. A reasonable play would be to continue to the puck. No penalty should be called by a reasonable ref.

 

Poor Timmy got the double crunch. He somehow went flying into the boards and hit, then the checker's momentum assquashed his head again. Pretty much a fluke.

 

Of course Connolly came back....CONTRACT year. He's been guttier at times this year, but it's hard to give him too much credit given circumstances. But he has been far from heartless this year. Maybe 3 chambers and 1 1/4 testicles worth of play.

[inkman]

This thread officially sucks. All verbose posters please flock!! I want one sentence dick jokes dammit!!

[PASabreFan]

This thread officially sucks. All verbose posters please flock!! I want one sentence dick jokes dammit!!

 

chz sez: ink is a short dick joke

[Marvelo]

poor Tim is our version of the Lady Byng turned Purple Cross victim.

[spndnchz]

chz sez: ink is a short dick joke

 

Au contraire mon frere.

[PASabreFan]

Au contraire mon frere.

 

Link?

[wonderbread]

Link?

 

 

is that the one with the two girls and a cup?

[PASabreFan]

Rick just revealed what he thought of the hit. He said Blake's hit on Kaleta, that just earned five and the game, was reminiscent of the hit on Connolly.

[Weave]

is that the one with the two girls and a cup?

 

:o :blink: :sick:

 

Don't hotlink it !!!!! PLEASE !!!

[Tyrannustyrannus]

they are a better team without him, just look at the PP against Anaheim

[Weave]

Boy, they really missed Connolly against Anaheim. :rolleyes:

 

 

Addition by subtraction.