Chara vs. Pachioretty

I mean there is no question that Pachioretty got absolutely crushed into the turnbuckle, but unfortunately this is part of the game. The turnbuckle has been a poor piece of engineering in hockey rinks all around the world, and players sometimes use that as leverage. Did Chara try to guide Pachioretty's face into the turnbuckle/stantion area? His past record says that he did not; Chara has never been penalized for any sort of malicious conduct on the ice, and therefore he did not receive a suspension. Did Pachioretty take a risk by trying to turn the corner on Chara in front of the turnbuckle? Yes, and he paid for it. I think both players had a stake in this play.



When you slow it down, it looks really bad. Chara is 6' 9" (about 7' 1" on skates), the guy doesn't have a whole lot of maneuverability out there, and even if he wanted to I don't know if he could have slowed up. He was just trying to put the guy into the boards and unfortunately Pachioretty caught the turnbuckle. It's been a part of the game for years. I actually think Chara should have been suspended for a few games, to set an example. The NHL is already on thin ice (oh!) with the concussion problems that it's going through, and this could have been a great step to take in the right direction.

While in the car yesterday, I caught a simulcast of a Montreal radio station and our own 98.5 The Sports Hub. Felger and Mazz went on the air with a couple of Montreal media members and discussed the hit. Felger was somewhat well-behaved until the topic of the Montreal police investigation came up, then he went off and started calling people in Montreal "yahoos" and "frauds." Pretty funny. One of the best parts was when one of the Montreal radio hosts brought up the Kyle McLaren hit on Richard Zednik in the 2002 playoffs (MON vs. BOS).



McLaren absolutely decimated Zednik with a high hit (who was also carrying the puck into the zone), and the guy mentioned that he remembers being at the Boston Garden for that game and how the situation was such that the Boston crowd thought that the hit was clean. Turns out that the game was played in Montreal, the guy wasn't even there. What a joke.

Anyway, if you have time you can download the free podcast here ("Simulcast with CJAD..."). It's worth it, very entertaining.