Malkin High Sticking Match Penalty (Suspended for One Game)

HTFN

Registered User
Feb 8, 2009
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It's "debatable" that Wilson went out of his way to try and take out the knee of the smallest player on the ice that night?

I'll let you in on a little secret. That "debate" ends pretty ****ing quickly.
Yeah, it is. You can argue that there are desired results there that aren't injury. Not that they're necessarily fair or legal, but that their roots are still in gamesmanship and not malice. Raffl's punch is another one of those things.

When you whip your stick at someone's face like that, you're not doing it "to get under their skin" so much as to see what's underneath it.
 

nothingbeatshockey

Registered User
May 3, 2013
1,336
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Malkin is a dirty pos, but that said IDGAF about Raffl, it's not like Malkin just went and did that to Giroux for no reason.

Personally I'm a big believer in escalating until the other person can't handle it if you can, so Malkin did fine in my books, sorry if you want to be a plug and punch one of the best players in the game in the back of the head, you probably deserve a stick to the face considering there are no enforcers anymore and even if they were the game is such a joke that they have to worry about the instigator penalty.

Wow ..... just wow! Rationalization at its finest.
 

HTFN

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Feb 8, 2009
12,173
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It's a shame you can't embed circus music into this post.
If you're just missing home you can always put it in a background tab, but if you think it's going to help digest that post I'm not sure how.
 

Empoleon8771

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Aug 25, 2015
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You're off your nut. The contact is worse, sure, but at least Johansen is seizing a moment during play to do something ****ty that he thinks he can get away with, under the guise of said play. Malkin didn't even look like he cared. He saw red, he wanted blood, and he swung.

It may be splitting hairs to some, but Johansen realized he could hit a guy with his stick because the moment aligned just right, and did. That's bad. Malkin decided he was going to hit Raffl with his stick, even if it meant lashing out with it to do so. That's worse as far as I'm concerned. No pretense, play no longer in the area, no reasonable excuse, just decided to do it and went for it.

Oh okay, so I'm a nut for suggesting that a suspension from 2 weeks ago is applicable because "HE DISGUISED IT AS A HOCKEY PLAY!!!!!!". Great argument.

No wonder you have a Tom Wilson avatar, you're used to defending his crap based on saying "He didn't mean to do it!". I don't even know what you're trying to argue, you really think a direct shot that was somewhat stealthy (and it wasn't even stealthy, it was painfully blatant) is somehow better than a grazing blow that was blatant?
 

BigEezyE22

Continuing to not support HF.
Feb 2, 2007
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You're off your nut. The contact is worse, sure, but at least Johansen is seizing a moment during play to do something ****ty that he thinks he can get away with, under the guise of said play. Malkin didn't even look like he cared. He saw red, he wanted blood, and he swung.

It may be splitting hairs to some, but Johansen realized he could hit a guy with his stick because the moment aligned just right, and did. That's bad. Malkin decided he was going to hit Raffl with his stick, even if it meant lashing out with it to do so. That's worse as far as I'm concerned. No pretense, play no longer in the area, no reasonable excuse, just decided to do it and went for it.

So a reactionary one-armed flail (where the intent to make head contact is debatable) is worse than a premeditated two-hander going down across the head in a circumstance where there is no question whatsoever of the expected result?
 

HTFN

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Feb 8, 2009
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Oh okay, so I'm a nut for suggesting that a suspension from 2 weeks ago is applicable because "HE DISGUISED IT AS A HOCKEY PLAY!!!!!!". Great argument.

No wonder you have a Tom Wilson avatar, you're used to defending his crap based on saying "He didn't mean to do it!". I don't even know what you're trying to argue, you really think a direct shot that was somewhat stealthy (and it wasn't even stealthy, it was painfully blatant) is somehow better than a grazing blow that was blatant?
For thinking it's applicable? No. For thinking it's worse? Yes. Why is everything always so loud and dramatic with you guys, with all the idiot caps lock and tHiS tRAsH? You can't just show a little respect for people who bother to take the time to explain their reasoning for you?

When you're doing the right thing and punishing based on the action and not result, then yes. Having even the tiniest plausible reason for doing what you did automatically makes it better than saying "I knew it was dirty and I just didn't care". I would genuinely prefer a version of this incident and thread where Malkin was off-balance and spinning, and even though he probably had enough control to do something about it he decided to whack Raffl anyway. We could argue pages and pages about how much control hockey players have over their body and how sneaky dirty certain things are, and have a lot of fun in that shadow of a doubt, and I don't think I'd come away thinking any less of anybody because that's basically sports.

But there's not even any doubt here, and watching people try to frame this is as acceptable is discouraging.
 

Shwag33

Registered User
May 27, 2008
6,107
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Malkin should get 3-4 games for being stupid. I don't think he was going for the head, just stupid and wreckless. Raffl with a brutal dive though, if anything it clipped his shoulder.

I'm not for raffl being suspended for the punches to the back of the head because of precedent... but this is why outsiders think it's a garage league. You let stuff go and things escalate. If the league wanted to the could cut all this crap out of the game. Scrums with glove punches, facewashing that leads to crosschecks, all the crap after the whistle.
 

HTFN

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Feb 8, 2009
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10,703
So a reactionary one-armed flail (where the intent to make head contact is debatable) is worse than a premeditated two-hander going down across the head in a circumstance where there is no question whatsoever of the expected result?

So are you trying to pitch me a hypothetical or are you actually calling Malkin's swing "reactionary" and Johansen's "premeditated" and not feeling ashamed of yourself?
 

PatriceBergeronFan

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Jul 15, 2011
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The eye for an eye response would be to punch them back, not to go nuclear.

Not to defend Malkin but in his head he also subconsciously knows Raffl is nowhere near worth his spending five minutes in the box. So he reacted differently... albeit not better at all.

Malkin is wrong for what he did but I have trouble feeling sympathy for Raffl either. He wasn't playing smart.
 

BigEezyE22

Continuing to not support HF.
Feb 2, 2007
5,645
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So are you trying to pitch me a hypothetical or are you actually calling Malkin's swing "reactionary" and Johansen's "premeditated" and not feeling ashamed of yourself?

You said it yourself. Johansson saw an opportunity to take a deliberate swing and disguise it as incidental and took that chance. Raffl was climbing all over Malkin like a politician on a mistress and Geno lashed out in response.

So yes. One is reactionary, and, just as you said yourself earlier, the other was intentional and unprovoked.
 

GodEmperor

Registered User
Oct 12, 2017
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The eye for an eye response would be to punch them back, not to go nuclear.

I disagree, it's not Malkin's role and if he did punch back and take a penalty or get a 5 minute fighting major, Raffl wins if he does that.

However if he swings his stick at his head, Raffl gets the message and so does the next guy that is going to sucker punch him that Malkin is crazy enough to do some reckless shit like that.

But if Malkin was supposed to "just punch back" I'd literally just ice goons on my 4th line and tell them to goad superstars into fights, it doesn't act as a deterrent and hurts your team.

I guess you can say Malkin hurt his team too, but honestly I have no sympathy for goons that instigate stuff with non fighters and quite frankly I'd give harsh penalties for bullying from goons.
 
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Hockey4Lyfe

Registered User
Feb 26, 2018
6,601
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this, maybe even a cross check. but you dont take a Babe Ruth swing at another guy's head.

I dont care if he mostly missed, that is still McSorley level bad

Holy hell. Can we stop with the he went nuclear and “Babe Ruth swings”?

There’s a middle ground of those saying it was harmless and you guys saying that he tomahawk chopped Raffl’s face off.
 

SML2

Registered User
Jan 1, 2018
4,751
6,790
Malkin is, was, and always will be a dirty piece of crap. Dress it up any way you want. He's a dirty player. In all honesty, I don't have a problem with a player being one who goes over the line. He didn't pull Raffl's name out of a hat there. Raffl initiated this whole thing. Some guys are gonna give you the horns when you mess with them. The best thing that could have happened to Malkin was missing because he would have probably been done for the year had he caught Raffl with that swing.
 

third man in

Registered User
Jul 27, 2007
4,507
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Maryland
I disagree, it's not Malkin's role and if he did punch back and take a penalty or get a 5 minute fighting major, Raffl wins if he does that.

However if he swings his stick at his head, Raffl gets the message and so does the next guy that is going to sucker punch him that Malkin is crazy enough to do some reckless **** like that.

But if Malkin was supposed to "just punch back" I'd literally just ice goons on my 4th line and tell them to goad superstars into fights, it doesn't act as a deterrent and hurts your team.

I guess you can say Malkin hurt his team too, but honestly I have no sympathy for goons that instigate stuff with non fighters and quite frankly I'd give harsh penalties for bullying from goons.
Maybe the Pens should stop trading away everyone can throw down. They just get softer and softer. If someone was abusing Kuznetsov or Backstrom, Wilson would put an end to it quick.

Also doubt this will dissuade anyone in the future from messing with Malkin if it's so easy to goad him into taking majors and suspensions.
 

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