Thoughts on the Stars/Timberwolves game
dallasactuary
Posts: 4,374 ✭✭✭✭✭
In a just world, the referees would not have accepted the bribe the Timberwolves offered them. In a juster world, Matt Dumba would never play professional hockey again. In a justest world, Derian Hatcher would detach Dumba's head from his neck and the world would be shed of this complete waste of oxygen. If a Star had done that to Kaprisov, I would be humiliated.
This is for you @thisistheshow - Jim Rice was actually a pretty good player.
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I could have sworn that hitting a player who hadn't touched the puck for several seconds was a penalty. I think they used to call it "interference". Minnesota was apparently informed of this rule change while Dallas was not; we need to catch up. But there's a really good hockey game going on if you can see past the Minnesota goonery.
Not sure if this is intentional, but you did cross sports there.
Dallas Stars vs Minnesota Timberwolves 🤷
While it was a HUGE hit, I am at a total loss on your reaction.
Pavelski had just given up possession of the puck, (and it had not been "several seconds") and it's quite common for players to get hit HARD in that situation. You have to expect that when you carry the puck at high speed in that way, an opposing player might "cut you off" from circling around behind the net. He held the puck too long before giving it up.
The hit was shoulder on shoulder, so no targeting of the head. The injury was caused by Pavelski's head hitting the ice. Dumba had no control over that.
The penalty on Dumba was for "roughing", so the official didn't see it as a "charging" penalty, or an "interference" call either. Looked to me like the call was to placate Dallas's players and fans because Pavelski got hurt.
I never liked to see guys get hurt and hope he is ok, but I don't see your outrage here. Certainly nothing like a knee on knee hit.
Dumba is a big hitter. I have seen a few instances this year where he clobbers a guy with the puck and the other team attacks him for a hard clean hit. You have to play with your head up.
You dismiss multiple (I saw two, others have mentioned up to four) vicious cross checks on a player NOWHERE NEAR the puck. There's ABSOLUTELY no excuse for these cross checks other than to try to injure our best player.
The difference is night and day.
My original question was about guys cross checking superstar players nowhere near where the puck is.........and why the NHL continues to allow it. The result of this has been some of the best skill players end up leaving the game and the overall game of hockey gets less entertaining, at least to me.
Once again, I hope Pavelski is able to return to the ice soon.
Oh, I get it. I see what you did there.🤣
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@dallasactuary plays the long con. 😂
Now that the massive talent of Roope Hintz is no longer a secret, my fear is that Minnesota will unleash one of their many goons to take him out, too.
You sure you didn’t fall asleep with the game on and when you woke up ‘Gladiator’ was showing?
I was not entertained.
If the Dallas Stars ever signed Matt Dumba - they never would, the Stars have class - I would never be able to root for the Stars again. I am reminded of the Stars signing of Sean Avery many years ago. Word was that Brett Hull was a pal of Avery's and talked the Stars into signing him. Big mistake, and he was gone as soon as the Stars could get rid of him. I was ashamed that he was on the team for as little time as he was there, but that shame can't touch the shame I would feel if Matt Dumba joined the team. Sean Avery was a rectum, and that's about all he was. Dumba is a rectum who tries to injure other players (three attempts in the first period tonight). He is an embarrassment to humanity, let alone the NHL.
The officials have officially had it with Minnesota playing goonball instead of hockey. Small consolation for Pavelski and now Faksa, but hockey fans everywhere are standing and applauding.
And in the third period the Stars get two penalties for embellishment.
I didn't watch the game, only followed on nhl.com, but it looks as though Faksa didn't miss a shift??
Yeah, Foligno's attempt to injure Faksa didn't work out how he planned. But Faksa is a real hockey player, unlike Foligno and Dumba, etc. He's tough.
And the Stars did get two penalties for embellishment. Like holding in football, it's a penalty the refs could call 20 times a game if they wanted to; I don't know why they felt like calling those and not the others. Probably because the Stars power play was cutting through Minnesota's penalty killers like soft cheese and they didn't want to hear Minnesota whine about how many power plays Dallas got again.
It was startling, though, how unbalanced that game was when they were forced to play actual hockey. Hopefully, the refs will stick to it for one more game and Minnesota can spend the off season kicking puppies or whatever it is they do for fun.
The 2 calls on Foligno in game 4 were not penalties, even the guys on the national broadcast said so.
Goals were scored on both, determining the outcome.
Foligno obviously let the calls bother him and stupidly made a knee on knee check. He should have known the officials were going to be watching him. That was stupid stupid and stupid. He is a big hitter, but I haven't seen this kind of garbage from him in the past.
As you said, the refs have decided that they are not going to allow Minnesota to play "playoff" hockey.
With Minnesota unable to kill penalties, they better stay out of the box.
By the way the crosscheck call on Middleton was laughable, nowhere near the Suter hits on Kaprizov.
I agree, and you can also throw "crosschecking" in with "embellishment" as calls official can make dozens of times per game if they so choose. This series got out of hand in the first period of the first game when Dumba successfully injured Pavelski, which was his clear and obvious intent. Being a goon doesn't come naturally to Suter, but his crosschecks on Kaprizov were his way of trying to get even, and the officials, having completely screwed the pooch on Dumba's aggravated assault on Pavelski, pretty much had to let them go. It took too long, but the officials have finally decided to assert themselves and do their jobs. Based on what I saw last night, that appears to be great news for Dallas.
And while the major call on Foligno made it official, the refs had started to reassert control in game 4. The calls on Foligno in game 4 were penalties, but not ones that officials would normally call. They were a warning, I think, to Foligno and to the entire team, that their patience was wearing thin. Foligno obviously didn't hear it, and neither did Evason. If Evason sends his team out again without a clear directive to knock off the cheap hits, there will be only one more game, and it won't be close.
As always, during the playoffs there is criticism for the refs, some justified. Refing is like coin grading, there is some subjectivity, refs are not perfect, apparently this years crews are not as experienced. Looks like Dallas is on it's way to winning the series (up 3-2) and the puck is on their ice so it is up to them to not lose it. Each 1rst round series there have been some issues with the refs, a great team plays on and does not focus on perceived refing issues.
Problem for Minnesota is that their alleged best offensive player has been underwhelming in this series. Karpisov has 1 point, the Wilde have no chance if that keeps up.
Link?
Using my phone. Don't know how to do that. Sorry.
I think it's from some writers column Russo?
I don't know. That unnamed "league officials" indicated "to the Wild" that any call "shouldn't have been a penalty" seems to me to be highly unlikely, on a lot of levels. That, and I just read everything Russo has written in the past week and found nothing remotely similar. Without a link, it didn't happen.
Glad that's over with.
Congratulations to Dallas and good luck in the playoffs.
I know this thread is obsolete, but I can't help but notice that Pavelski has a Texas Hat Trick tonight going into OT.
And thank God he does; the rest of the Stars are struggling mightily.