Curious why Neal and Asham's hearings are tomorrow instead of today. Too busy playing cleanup from yesterday's actions? it only took them a day to go after Carkner and Hagelin...

It's really amazing that Boston managed to win the Stanley Cup with a turtle coaching their team.

Could there really be no other possible reasons? Like perhaps the fact that more is on the line in every single game. Like perhaps the fact that there are fewer referees with the requisite experience needed to patrol and manage games such that these events do not occur?

Nope. They've got no fucking respect! In the annals of hockey lore they'll always point to the summer of 2011 as the moment when all hockey players decided to forgo respect for one another! I bet it was all el nino and global warming's fault.

I didn't know there was more on the line in these playoffs than there were last year and the year before that when you didn't see 11 game misconducts in a week and at least 7 suspensions before the first round is over. I guess from what your saying, these 2012 playoffs mean more than any other year........"because it's the cup?"

What will be a media talking point and what they will point to is that the playoffs of 2012 were marred in part because the league refused to take control of the players by A) not suspending Shea Weber for a move that probably deserved a 3-5 game suspension and B) not having sufficient referees to handle the playoffs.

So we are going to excuse a drastic rise in deliberate attempts to injure on the fact teams are more competitively balanced? We're really going to use that barometer?

Well, gee gosh golly. The Bruins are a tough team, but since we're a 7 seed and more competitively balanced, I guess it makes it more ok for me to take my stick and try to cross check someone in the face.

The fact is, this isn't just a hockey thing, which is why I do subscribe to the belief that players simply don't respect their colleagues as much as they used to. You had this going on in football with the Brandon Merriweather's of the world using their helmet like a weapon, deliberately trying to injure people with it.

It's one thing for Don Cherry to say it. But there are other former professional hockey players echoing the sentiment talking about this lack of respect. Roenick went off on it last night. Keith Jones has talked about it as have some guys on NHL Network. I'll take their word more than yours, no offense.

You know it's bad when the NHL people can't even defend him anymore. There was a guy on NHL radio who is an unapologetic Crosby lover who sounded like he was betrayed by his High School girlfriend, saying he doesn't think he can ever look at Crosby and the Penguins the same way again.

I'm really getting tired of the whole "the respect is out of the game" bullshit. Maybe its because people hadn't seen hockey in the 70's and 80's but please go back and watch those games and tell me where the respect for the players was.

This isn't players lacking respect, this is the product of parity. Every game is intensely close, the gap between playoff teams is so incredibly slim, and players, arguably more competitive than ever as a result of the parity, will do whatever it takes to win.

Also, a lot of the same shit that's happening now has always been happening, it's just that with social media and increased television coverage, where most people can see any game or pull up any highlight almost immediately after it happens, they're just getting more attention.

Shooting off "the players have lost respect" is just an easy cop out. It's an easy narrative to build without ever really having to provide any substance to back it up. It's exactly like the whole "the Bruins are suffering because of Tim Thomas' refusal to go to the White House" and every other bullshit narrative that people hide behind.

I've fucking had it with Pittsburgh. I've fucking had it with Crosby. I just saw Ovechkin put a .....well.....it was like a cross-check while lifting himself off the ice and torpedoing Kulikov tonight. That happened right in front of the ref. No more than 5...8 years from his eyes. It did not go called. Go figure....and the last penalty on Goc was a piece of shit fucking call to give Washington a fucking PP in the last 3 minutes of a 3-2 game where Florida was outplaying Washington and throughout the whole fucking game the refs let the big boys play. But when shit happens to Ovechkin he takes it. He doesn't fucking whine about it. Bruce did not whine about it. Hunter has not either. Ovechkin gets slashed he goes WTF to the ref and the next shift he does something dirty. Messier was that kind of player as well.

You bring that shit to Pittsburgh and you have Crosby whining like a fucking cry baby, Bylsma demanding an explanation and the team then talks to the NHL. It's like having that rich asshole kid who bitches if something is done to him. His rich parents go talk to the school's principal and the school treats them like kings.

I think Milbury should have only apologized for what he said on Bylsma. But on Crosby? FUCK IT. He should have stood by those comments.

I don't give a rat's ass how good Crosby is, the guy is a fucking asshole who has no fucking balls. At least Ovechkin has the fucking balls because he will fucking kill you. Crosby won't. He will pick on a smaller guy and then whine to the ref, cry to his daddy Shero and demand something.

I'll never forget that one time that he got hit hard by a Panther, a few years ago, and on the face off dot, the moment the puck is dropped he starts pounding Brett McLean who had nothing to do what so ever with whatever happened before. Brett.....McLean.

I hope the Flyers put Crosby back in bed and Laviolette throws a skirt at Bylsma. Fucking pricks....

Edit:This league gets on just fine without Crosby as it did without Lindros. Go fuck yourself Sidney, too bad Kaspar and Stevens were not playing today. You'd be posting your resume on Monster for a job.

I listen to the Flyers broadcasts somewhat often (on XM, you only get the home team's feed), and Tim Saunders and Chris Therrien aren't exactly what I would call great hockey minds. The fact that a Flyer homer is blaming that shitshow of a series on Crosby is all you need to know.

I listen to the Flyers broadcasts somewhat often (on XM, you only get the home team's feed), and Tim Saunders and Chris Therrien aren't exactly what I would call great hockey minds. The fact that a Flyer homer is blaming that shitshow of a series on Crosby is all you need to know.

The fact is a good deal of it IS Crosby's fault. He is starting a good deal of this shit and leading his team by example. He's the captain and if he wanted to he could try and put an end to it but obviously not only does he not want to but is leading the charge.

Crosby went after Timmonen. He pulls Hartnell's hair from behind. He has his teammates fighting for him if there are bigger players on the ice. Every hockey fan who is not a Penguins fan should hope that the Penguins lose tomorrow and that Crosby gets beat up to the point where he cries and gets kicked out of the game.

I wouldn't even shake this fucker's hand when the series is over. He is a disgrace.

Not saying he's been a role model here, the fact that anyone could hold the Flyers blameless or even mostly blameless for a situation spinning out of control is pretty laughable.

I didn't watch most of Game 3, so I can't speak to that, but for Games 1 and 2, I didn't see anything particularly egregious that the Flyers did. Were you only speaking about Game 3, or were there other acts in the series that you felt they contributed to?

I didn't watch most of Game 3, so I can't speak to that, but for Games 1 and 2, I didn't see anything particularly egregious that the Flyers did. Were you only speaking about Game 3, or were there other acts in the series that you felt they contributed to?

Part of the hostility stems from this:



Retaliation for this is what led to the first round of fights in the last game of the regular season, which obviously carried over.

No one wants to mention this, and obviously Crosby is getting most of the blame, but the real fault lies with the Pittsburgh goaltending and defense. They can't hold leads and can't get a save on a single good scoring chance. It's got to be frustrating for them to not get the defensive work you would expect in the playoffs. In the first two games, they've blown terrific leads. So I thik that's where the frustration comes from.

Shaw gets 3 games. No injury to Mike Smith. Well okay then.

I'd say this puts Neal's suspension at five games, no?

5 games for what?

NJ up 2-0 already. Surprised they lost game 2. I still think they'll take it in 5.