Rinaldo Sucker Punches Girard (Suspended for 6 games)

[CuriousGeorge]

...then fighting ensues where Johnson lays waste to the dirtbag which MacKinnon fights Archibald in the process.

Because of injuries Avs are only playing with three defenders due to EJ getting 7 minutes of penalties.

Full Incident


EJ Beatdown

He got what he deserved.

 

[tucker3434]

So different. Nobody hit him with the stick first. Are you serious?

Hit him with his stick? Girard gave him a bit of a two handed shove then tried to continue around him to the puck.

Completely agree with Biz there, Girard came over after that hit and initiated contact. Yes the sucker was dirty but Girard should have just dropped his gloves after going over like that, that play had all the signs of a fight and Rinaldo was totally right in thinking either he gets suckered or he does the punching. Yes I know it’s Girard but Rinaldo doesn’t notice that in the heat of the moment, he just threw a big hit on a star player and like many times before he was expecting to answer for it like many times before. For all those defending Girard what was his intention in approaching Rinaldo there? And initiating contact? What was the other outcome with Rinaldo?

He was skating away when he got punched, so I’d say the other outcome was continuing on with the play. You know, hockey.

 

[m302291]

1) Remember the Sweeney's Summer of Sin when he traded a 3rd Rounder for him?

2) I loathe Rinaldo, but I just would like to make it known that I've watched those chirping vids on youtube and he's in a few and he seems to be, like, super polite whenever he instigates a fight with someone. Like he'll tap them on the shin guards, ask ever so casually "Do wanna go?" and then as they grab each other he askes "Which shoulder? Which shoulder?"

It's really weird. I don't think most fights are like that. And if they are so artificial and so unemotional, what the frig is the point of fighting?

 

[Tobias Kahun]

Half of the outrage in this thread is clearly less about the action and more about the individual. It was a nasty punch and a stupid thing to do but it was a bad decision made in an instant. He obviously thought Girard was coming at him. He should've slowed down a moment and not just went straight to swinging for the fences. But this clearly wasn't opportunistic or predatory.

Girard didn't deserve to get his clock cleaned like that. Not with his gloves on and hands on his stick. He also made an extremely stupid mistake by going at Rinaldo like that.

Again, I hope both guys learn from this. Girard had to stay out of things like that. Rinaldo can't react so damned quickly to violence. Hopefully neither ends up in a situation like this again.

Girard doesn't need to learn to do anything, did absolutely nothing wrong here, the only one who needs to learn something is Rinaldo, but hopefully he never gets to learn how to fix it since hopefully he never see's the ice in a NHL game again.

 

[chet1926]

On what planet does a love tap deserve a full on sucker punch as you are skating past?

I won't argue that Girard should have stayed away but at the same time his actions in no way deserved a sucker punch upside the head as he is clearly not trying to drop the gloves as both his hands are on the stick and is attempting to continue playing.

Rinaldo needs to be much more aware of the situation, you can't just go in swinging at everything that moves. Had Girard come at him face to face and challenged him, by all means swing away.

The fact is that Rinaldo is a punk who obviously can't control his actions, and this type of action needs to be punished severely, and fully expect the league to come down on Rinaldo for a really dumb reckless play. The fact is Rinaldo has a history a mile long, its clear that this guy shouldn't be in the NHL, he just can't keep his emotions in check.

 

[oobga]

I expect no less from Rinaldo. Just gotta hope he gets something on his record here.

 

[TNT87]

I think Rinaldo has shown a lot of control this season and has seemed to turn the page a little on the crazy shenanigans. Was very much a pretty clean, checking line energy player this season. The MacKinnon hit was fine. Then Girard comes at him...

That was a very stupid thing to do by Girard.

HAVING SAID THAT Rinaldo reacted waaay too quickly. Kid came in which was stupid. But he still had his gloves on and hands on his stick. Dumb play by Rinaldo who should've processed quicker.

Rinaldo wasn't thinking "19 year old rookie" like the goofballs in this thread. He probably thought all of two words "oh ****" and then chucked one. Too quick to punch. Hair trigger. It cost his team the game and it's going to get him suspended and fined.

He's worked hard to claw his way back into the league and redefine his approach to become the type of player who can actually stay in the NHL. He jeopardized that tonight. He really should have slowed down and thought for a moment. He didn't. He just reacted and it was a mistake.

Glad Girard is okay. Hopefully both players learn from this and neither is involved in such an ugly situation again.

Rinaldo probably can't even spell his first name. He's not going to learn from this just like he never learned from the other numerous times he's done something dirty.

 

[Balthazar]

 

[paragon]

I agree with what Bissonnette says here, but I also think Rinaldo had the time to realize he wasn’t in a fight and not punch Girard.

How could he realize? Girard came cross-checking his back.

I think Rinaldo is a scum in general, but I wouldn't pin this on him. After a clean check Girard goes after him. It was quite a natural reaction from him.

 

[saffronleaf]

No no no, you two don't understand my point. I totally see what you're saying, I can see what led Rinaldo's tiny little walnut brain to make him do what he did. It's fairly obvious that he was expecting some payback.

My point is, that sort of thing is not okay and shouldn't be defended.


However, I can see what these two gentlemen are getting at:

Rinaldo is too unintelligent to properly assess the situation he was in and made a very ape-like decision. The end.

I don't even know if it would be fair for the league to suspend him. Is he blameworthy when he only has an IQ of 50?

 

[hooverdam]

Even if Girard came straight at Rinaldo from the front, screaming "I am going to fight you Rinaldo" and making an angry face at him, Rinaldo was supposed to wait for his gloves to come off to hit him. That's the "code". That's what Rinaldo did wrong. If Rinaldo thought a fight was about to break out, he was still wrong to pop someone in the face like that before they could square up. A traditional goon would wait and face the scary teenager like a man; a spineless coward who routinely gets his teeth kicked in by real men does what Rinaldo did.

 

[Nico the Draft Riser]

I don't even know if it would be fair for the league to suspend him. Is he blameworthy when he only has an IQ of 50?

That IQ of 50 is making much more than most of us being the most hated player in the NHL. .. and now im sad

 

[NeverBeNormal]

You know you really screwed up when bizidiot is the only one trying to justify you suckering someone.

 

[Armourboy]

How could he realize? Girard came cross-checking his back.

I think Rinaldo is a scum in general, but I wouldn't pin this on him. After a clean check Girard goes after him. It was quite a natural reaction from him.

If that's going after someone then every player on the ice is going after someone every second they are on the ice.

Girard skates over to him and basically does a drive by tap, happens 100's of times a game without people getting mugged.

The problem with the whole thing is this, it wouldn't matter if it was Girard or McLeod, he wouldn't have allowed enough time for anyone to square up, they would have been sucker punched.

People don't seem to understand that there is nothing wrong with him defending himself, the problem is in how he went about doing it. If he does what most people expecting a fight does, he pushes back and creates space and time to access the situation. That's not what he did though, he just flat laid him out without a thought about anything.

There was s time this stuff went on, but in an age where we now understand the long term issues it can cause after hockey it needs to be gone. Sure guys jump others for every little hit it seems, but it's mostly just pushing and shoving with no real harm to come from it.

I don't care what the situation is, at no point should it be ok to sucker punch another player.

 

[RomanEmpire]

Lol give me a break with the "Girard shouldn't have came at him like that" bs.

That happens literally every game if there's a questionable hit. Their teammate(s) skate up to the guy who delivered the hit, give them the usual push & let them know it wasn't appreciated, without ever having the intention to fight.

What Girard did hardly warrants getting sucked punched in the face by a trash can.

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

For fear of an illegal, and likely suspension worthy, sucker punch? Jesus, I hope that isn’t the lesson the league is tryin to send.

Reach on. You understood the point no doubt.

 

[Muffin]

Reach on. You understood the point no doubt.

Honestly have no clue what you're trying to argue, it's a foregone conclusion he's getting suspended. Are you defending a suspend-able action?

 

[Lapa]

That's ugly. Throw the damn book at him.

Also, good for Johnson to punish that puke.

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

Honestly have no clue what you're trying to argue, it's a foregone conclusion he's getting suspended. Are you defending a suspend-able action?

The world isn't so black and white... I can say Rinaldo earned his suspension but isn't as pure evil in this scenario as the sky is falling drama fans want him to seem.

Players should know who is on the ice. If that's the case you don't approach a player like Rinaldo after a big hit and expect to give him a shot without response.

It's good to see some hate in hockey. It is entertainment after all.

Even were I to defend a suspendable action, what's it to you? Must I sit in the time-out corner if I did?

 

[Muffin]

The world isn't so black and white... I can say Rinaldo earned his suspension but isn't as pure evil in this scenario as the sky is falling drama fans want him to seem.

Players should know who is on the ice. If that's the case you don't approach a player like Rinaldo after a big hit and expect to give him a shot without response.

It's good to see some hate in hockey. It is entertainment after all.

I think it's pretty black and white, if you do something that gets you suspended that = bad

 

[Lou is God]

The world isn't so black and white... I can say Rinaldo earned his suspension but isn't as pure evil in this scenario as the sky is falling drama fans want him to seem.

Players should know who is on the ice. If that's the case you don't approach a player like Rinaldo after a big hit and expect to give him a shot without response.

It's good to see some hate in hockey. It is entertainment after all.

Really? Any player that approaches him has a cheap shot coming to them? And I must have missed when Girard gave him a shot. Bottom line is NO PLAYER is unapproachable on the ice, to suggest Rinaldo should be given special treatment because he's a cheap shot artist is ridiculous.

And I saw nothing entertaining from this event tonight. Nada.

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

I think it's pretty black and white, if you do something that gets you suspended that = bad

Missed the point (deliberately I'm sure) as well. Your post is not disagreeing with anything I said.... just more faux outrage.

 

[MapleLeafs9]

That’s just a good ol’ tough hockey play...

....if it was the ‘70s/‘80s. Go away Rinaldo.

 

[PensPlz]

Poor OEL... he looks so embarrassed.

 

[HugeMetalFan]

Funny thing is you can't find any of this on nhl.com website, it's not included in any of the highlights, you wouldn't even know something happened if your source was only NHL. It's almost as if they put an informational embargo on fights and dirty plays in general. The point is the NHL clearly does not want to advertise stuff like this but at the same time doesn't do anything significant to get rid of it.