The Seven is an arbitrary list of randomly connected hockey subjects that will run every Thursday on Puck Daddy. Agree to disagree.
Due to recent events that may or may not have involved Milan Lucic, there's been a renewed debate about the safety of goaltenders in the NHL.
Of course, it's not always a skater barreling in and taking liberties with a goaltender. Sometimes goalies get a little too aggressive, putting themselves in a position for a collision. Ryan Miller may or may not have recently dabbled in this.
In the edition of The 7, we take a trip through the annuls of YouTube to revisit a few epic collisions between skaters and goalies. Some resulted in mayhem. Some resulted in injuries. Some resulted in LOL HOCKEY moments.
Here are The 7 Great Skater vs. Goalie Collisions that Resulted in Hilarity and/or Chaos. Enjoy ?
1. Milan Lucic vs. Ryan Miller, Nov. 2011
"And they oughta clean his clock!"
This is the most recent example of a skater getting overly physical with a goaltender, as Milan Lucic doesn't see Ryan Miller is winded took his lumps too hit Ryan Miller in a game against the Buffalo Sabres in Nov. 2011. Lucic was given a minor penalty but wasn't given a suspension; Miller, who was concussed during the game, infamously referred to the Boston Bruins forward as a piece of [poo-poo] in postgame comments.
One last interesting bit for your perusal on the Sabres' lack of physical response, from Mike Haim of Metro NY: "Smart play on the ice, while perhaps not as attention-grabbing, is a better option than playing mind games and posturing like the NHL's become the WWE."
2. Johan Hedberg vs. Simon Gagne, Jan. 2010
Perhaps the single funniest skater/goalie collision in NHL history, The Moose went out to challenge the Philadelphia Flyers forward and then turtled ? literally. He sweater covered his head, and he flailed around unable to see.
The sight of a player chaotically scrambling with a jersey pulled over his face might be the lasting image of the Atlanta Thrashers' legacy. Well, that and Evander Kane knocking down Matt Cooke with one punch.
3. Cam Janssen vs. Carey Price, Jan. 2010
It's a thin line between brave and stupid, and we're not sure where Carey Price falls on this play. Well, besides flat on his back.
He came out to play the puck with Cam Janssen of the St. Louis Blues coming in like a freight train on the forecheck, and suffered the expected consequences.
For the record, nothing Carey Price will ever do can match the audacity of attempting to go after Janssen while wearing his mask.
4. Josh Harding vs. Steve Ott, Jan. 2010
Not every collision needs to be of the Lucic/Miller variety. Here's Steve Ott of the Dallas Stars crashing the net, giving Josh Harding a little stick to the gut, landing on him, riding him like a child would a pony for a few moments and then trading gloved punches with the pissed off Minnesota Wild netminder.
Josh Harding is the man. #FreeJoshHarding
5. Blake Wheeler vs. Dan Tormey, Dec. 2006
Granted, this was a case in which Minnesota winger Wheeler, now with the Winnipeg Jets, was hauled down while heading to the crease and collided with Tormey. But the aftermath is so memorable, it needs to be on this list. From MNDaily.com:
Sophomore forward Blake Wheeler was hauled down while skating in on Mavericks goalie Dan Tormey, and in the process, a fight ensued in the crease.� But more importantly - and much more costly - was as Wheeler went down, he slid skates first into Tormey and forced him to leave the game.� Minnesota State coach Troy Jutting said Tormey suffered a severed tendon in his wrist and must undergo surgery.
It was just part of the total chaos that followed in the NCAA between Minnesota and Minnesota State.
6. Ron Hextall vs. Chris Chelios, May 1989
Lest anyone believe it's just skaters running goalies here, let's blissfully recall the moment when the Philadelphia Flyers goalie gooned the Montreal Canadiens defenseman at the end of their 1989 Wales Conference Final, which the Habs won. The whole thing was a retaliation for Chelios concussing Brain Propp in Game 1.
Quoth Hexy: "We were down in the series and it looked like it was going to be Chelios' last shift. I'm not sure really what happened. I just felt the need to go after him, partly out of what he did to Propp and partly out of frustration with the situation we were in as a team."
7. Marian Gaborik vs. Dominik Hasek, Dec. 2007
One of the greatest aerial highlights in NHL history. From the AP, after the Detroit Red Wings' 5-04 victory over the Minnesota Wild:
The Wild's Marian Gaborik had a breakaway on Hasek from just outside the Red Wings' blue line. And as Hasek often does when he sees a shooter on a breakaway with his head down, he charged out of his net to try and knock the puck away. Hasek then slid out and did knock it away. But in the process, he also flipped Gaborik skates over head to the ice.
"I got there first to the puck and I don't think it's supposed to be a penalty," Hasek said. "His head was down, I didn't go after him, I went directly for the puck. I got the puck first, then I hit him. I hit him with my legs, but I have to protect myself also. I cannot go into him with my shoulders."
So he did the only thing he could do: Create a priceless highlight.
(And kudos to the arena DJ for getting "I Believe I Can Fly" on in record time.)
Previously on Puck Daddy's The 7
The 7 NHL players with mind-blowing career plus/minus ratings
The 7 NHL journeymen nearing Mike Sillinger levels of relocation
The 7 neglected NHL fan pages we love
The 7 players we'd pay to watch in an NHL shootout
The 7 NHL veterans still livin' the dream in minor leagues
The 7 most heartwarming stories of the NHL preseason
No comments:
Post a Comment