Kucherov kicks Connolly

[McVechkin]

Nothing really to see here. There was some back and forth between him and connolly before this. Connolly actually tripped him right before with his skate (not a slewfoot like people here have said.. slewfoot requires both a sweeping leg from behind and a pulling the opponents chest back from the front.. very different in levels of dirtiness than just sticking the foot out and tripping like Connolly did. )

While there was a kicking motion.. it was more of a forcefully trip.. no intent on it being anything more than that.

 

[Aoko]

He was penalized for it. It was unsportsmanlike.

He was angry. Connolly wasn't hurt.

This is a non-issue. People love to make something out of nothing. OP sounds like the kind of father that would demand compensation if his kid was tripped up during a game. Chill out. It's the playoffs. Get thicker skin.

 

[Mattb124]

That is definitely not the worst case.

He could have missed and his momentum could have carried his leg up and into the back of Connolly's head causing major head injury.

Wow, seriously? You might as well add the accidental cutting of the throats of all the players on the adjacent bench if you are going to take it there.

 

[HunterSThompson]

Wow, seriously? You might as well add the accidental cutting of the throats of all the players on the adjacent bench if you are going to take it there.

Clearly not serious. But either way there is always the possibility of things worse happening when you start kicking blades at people even if you lead with your shin or toe or laces, which is why the rule is written the way it is.

 

[domaug]

His next suspension goes into the following season. I would bet any amount on that.

again i would hope so. i hope he doesn't injure anyone else though so we don't have to find out.

 

[sparxx87]

He was penalized for it. It was unsportsmanlike.

He was angry. Connolly wasn't hurt.

This is a non-issue. People love to make something out of nothing. OP sounds like the kind of father that would demand compensation if his kid was tripped up during a game. Chill out. It's the playoffs. Get thicker skin.

No kicking. It’s a day one rule. It’s a line you do not cross. Period. New fans are always welcome but you look silly coming in and defending something most of us learned in tyke is completely unacceptable.

If you assault your wife and luckily she isn’t hurt.... should she just get thicker skin? Or did you still just assault your wife? Still just a non-issue?

 

[josra33]

Kicking has no place in the game. Suspend him. Make the example... but let’s see where the wheel of justice lands... “no whammy no whammy no whammyyyyyy stop!”

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Kickerov gets off Scott free and Kempny fined. Never change NHL.

 

[Vasilevskiy]

Kickerov

 

[gtrower]

Tough to escalate to suspending a guy for a frustration play that wasn’t really malicious and didn’t result in any injuries (and doesn’t have a history of kicking that i know of). But agree with others in this thread that a fine to acknowledge that it won’t be tolerated in the future seems fair.

 

[MattySnipes]

Connolly is the best Lightning player in this series.

He's impressed me. He finally seems to have found his way, to Washington's benefit. I remember how highly touted he was in his draft (Taylor vs. Tyler). He went 6th overall to the Lightning and was up and down for about 3-4 years and they seemed to have given up on him [trade to B's for 2nd round picks in 15 (D, Matthew Spencer) and 16 (LW, Boris Katchouk)]. Pretty decent haul by the Lightning though.

He also didn't do much on the B's for 2 years, then signed with the Caps as a free agent.

Quite the player at only $1.5m per year.

 

[stampedingviking]

I think it's borderline threadworthy but I'll give it a go...



Should the league look at this? Pretty subtle but pretty dangerous as those blades are razor sharp.

Dirty play that should warrant a suspension but DOPS!

 

[Devil Dancer]

<--- Caps fan.

I wouldn't have minded a fine to send a message that kicking is unacceptable, but this wasn't that bad.

Voted yes DOPS should review, but a suspension would probably be overkill here.

 

[4thTierSport]

Rule on kicking is pretty black and white and that should be a Match Penalty and the 1 game suspension that goes with it.

NHL really needs to enforce their own damn rules when it comes to Spearing and Kicking. Rules are Match Penalties for attempting either and rightfully so. They’re both non-hockey plays that only embarrass the league to the public.

 

[Crosbyfan]

<--- Caps fan.

I wouldn't have minded a fine to send a message that kicking is unacceptable, but this wasn't that bad.

Voted yes DOPS should review, but a suspension would probably be overkill here.

Agree 100%. I understand he was frustrated and wanted to reply in kind (thus the kick where a slash or crosscheck is more common) but it is line you want to have kept drawn. NHL drops the ball by not fining him, even if seemingly meaningless.

 

[Crosbyfan]

Rule on kicking is pretty black and white and that should be a Match Penalty and the 1 game suspension that goes with it.

NHL really needs to enforce their own damn rules when it comes to Spearing and Kicking. Rules are Match Penalties for attempting either and rightfully so. They’re both non-hockey plays that only embarrass the league to the public.

Not so black and white (for the NHL)
49.4 Fines and Suspensions - There are no specified fines or suspensions for kicking and opponent, however, supplementary discipline can be applied by the Commissioner at his discretion (refer to Rule 28).

 

[Rebels57]

I cant believe this has more Yes votes.

Connolly wears shin guards too. He'll be ok.

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

I cant believe this has more Yes votes.

Connolly wears shin guards too. He'll be ok.

That's like saying if I wear a bullet proof vest it's okay for someone to shoot me because I'll be okay

 

[Rebels57]

That's like saying if I wear a bullet proof vest it's okay for someone to shoot me because I'll be okay

I get your point..but this really was a nothing play. This is the Playoffs. Connolly slew-footed him, so he kicked him back in the shin. No big deal.

 

[Mattb124]

I get your point..but this really was a nothing play. This is the Playoffs. Connolly slew-footed him, so he kicked him back in the shin. No big deal.

Slewfoots basically incorporate a kick to the back of the leg which has less protection from cuts than the shin, as well as the potential for a head injury from falling backwards into the ice. If Connelly did in fact slewfoot Kucherov he should get 2x+ whatever people are claiming is fair for Kucherov.

 

[Aoko]

No kicking. It’s a day one rule. It’s a line you do not cross. Period. New fans are always welcome but you look silly coming in and defending something most of us learned in tyke is completely unacceptable.

If you assault your wife and luckily she isn’t hurt.... should she just get thicker skin? Or did you still just assault your wife? Still just a non-issue?

Kicking a player so he falls to the ice is the same thing as domestic abuse. Gotcha.

You have to love the simple minded creatures that need to use extreme comparisons to get their point across. Because they lack the mental capacity to use a realistic comparison to paint their message along.

Kucherov won't be suspended. The league is already laughing at how bad the Bolts are getting their asses kicked and probably see that as punishment enough.

Why don't you? Nah, you're right. Let's get Slava Voynov 2.0 banned from the sport because he kicked a former Bolt player.

Am I speaking your language yet?

 

[Crosbyfan]

I cant believe this has more Yes votes.

Connolly wears shin guards too. He'll be ok.

Bare in mind it is not necessarily more "suspend" votes. Just more saying it should be sanctioned to some extent. We don't want to see the game head in that direction, where we see more of, and need to judge the degree of kicks. There is no need of them in the game. As above where I agreed with Devil Dancer, I thought a fine would at least put it on record as unacceptable. I voted yes for a hearing based on that.

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

Kicking a player so he falls to the ice is the same thing as domestic abuse. Gotcha.

You have to love the simple minded creatures that need to use extreme comparisons to get their point across. Because they lack the mental capacity to use a realistic comparison to paint their message along.

Kucherov won't be suspended. The league is already laughing at how bad the Bolts are getting their asses kicked and probably see that as punishment enough.

Why don't you? Nah, you're right. Let's get Slava Voynov 2.0 banned from the sport because he kicked a former Bolt player.

Am I speaking your language yet?

Your post is extreme and it coincides with "You have to love the simple minded creatures that need to use extreme comparisons to get their point across"

 

[Aoko]

Your post is extreme and it coincides with "You have to love the simple minded creatures that need to use extreme comparisons to get their point across"

Thank you for confirming that I am speaking his language.

 

[Stand Witness]

I'd be okay with any garbage that has no purpose and is meant to hurt another player being an automatic 1 game suspension. That garbage will be out of the game quick if a standard is maintained.

I also don't think this is kicking but more attempted slewfoot or trip. To me, kicking sounds like he was trying to hurt him with the blade of the skate.