Protip: When submitting a story like this, it helps to link to video.

And it helps not to steal the last headline about this story.

/when the video does show up, the reaction will be epic

I hate Protips.

Wow. Hope he's okay. That was a nasty shot. His only ill intention was for the goal post, but wow.

All snark aside...

I have a genuine nightmare where something like this happens on the ice where a player accidentally swings his sticks and hits a teammate in the back of the head crushing the brain stem. In his sudden horror of seeing his teammate doing the "funky chicken", he figures that there's nothing more for the unlucky stick-swinger to do than put his teammate out of his misery right there on the ice...first with his stick, and then his skate.

After Malarchuk, and after McSorley/Brashear, this incident tonight was the closest I've seen that nightmare come to fruition.

/years of watching minor league hockey as a kid messed me up a bit

Why does Florida have a hockey team? Why does Florida have TWO hockey teams?

stretchering

I hate you so much right now, subby

NewportBarGuy: Why does Florida have a hockey team? Why does Florida have TWO hockey teams?

Same reason you can buy orange juice in Canada.

or have Zamboni's outside of Los Angeles.

Video: Link (new window)

A shocking new trend has officially started. Allowing 2 goals in the 1st period will now result in your defenseman going up side the head of your goaltender. It will be known as the DJ Casper rule.

NewportBarGuy: Why does Florida have a hockey team? Why does Florida have TWO hockey teams?

...and California has 3. It's because the NHL is badly run, and thinks just by locating a team in an area where no one grew up playing hockey, people will magically become fans.

mavrickatubc: NewportBarGuy: Why does Florida have a hockey team? Why does Florida have TWO hockey teams?

...and California has 3. It's because the NHL is badly run, and thinks just by locating a team in an area where no one grew up playing hockey, people will magically become fans.

The California teams are all pretty successful though. The Southeast teams are all fairly failtastic, but Dallas is another warm weather team that's very profitable and has a great fanbase. Phoenix, clearly there are problems there.

Ignoring how well the Sharks, Duck, and Stars do in favor of simply bashing the NHL for putting teams in warm weather is just idiotic.

Wow that was farking stupid.

I lived in miami for a year and a half. While Ill admit that the Panthers cheerleaders are a travesty, they've been a half decent team most of the time, and its still hockey you can watch live. while there's something to be said about watching a sport one can play, its not like most people at a hockey game actually play ice hockey anyway, no matter where they are.

drkdstryer: Phoenix, clearly there are problems there.

Yeah, the main problems being that 1) the Coyotes can't seem to put together a decent season, and 2) their stadium is located too far from the population centers of Phoenix to be easily accessible on game night to most people.

NewportBarGuy: Why does Florida have a hockey team? Why does Florida have TWO hockey teams?

Actually, Florida has FOUR professional hockey teams. The Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers in the NHL, the Florida Everblades (based in Naples/Ft Myers) of the ECHL, and the Pensacola Ice Flyers of the SPHL.

Sure, only 2 are major-league (the ECHL is AA hockey, and the SPHL is a league below that), but it's still a lot of hockey in a state that rarely, if ever, sees ice naturally.

No ice in Florida?

What's even more embarrassing is they lost to the Thrashers.

/wait...we have a WINNING record?!?

FishyFred: And it helps not to steal the last headline about this story.


Huh?

drkdstryer:

The California teams are all pretty successful though. The Southeast teams are all fairly failtastic .

Frowns on your shenanigans

what a colossal moron.

Sounds like Vokoun will be ok. No damage beyond a laceration and he flew home with his team.

In other hockey news from last night, Karma finally caught up with Ovechkin.

Bah! You guys missed the point entirely. Vokoun will sure as heck think twice about letting in a soft goal knowing his own teammates will put the beat down on him!

Seriously though, what the heck is going on this year? Knee to knee hits, head hunting, stick swinging, hits from behind... and not isolated incidents either, it's a new one every single night it seems.

Colin Campbell...says that Ballard will not be suspended for taking a whack at his own goalie. He tells Ken Campbell of The Hockey News that the highlights of that hit -- and everything else that goes with it -- is punishment enough.

Haha!

But, yeah, what a boneheaded move by Ballard. The same thing happened a couple years ago at the WC when Tomas Surovy beaned Jaroslav Halak in frustration after a goal. Went to whack the post and caught Halak in the back of the head. Funny thing is, both Surovy and Ballard had the same reaction after clubbing their goaltenders. They didn't even seem to notice, then proceeded to take another swing at the post with their sticks before skating off.

Keith Ballard is really touchy about his plus/minus.

drkdstryer: Ignoring how well the Sharks, Duck, and Stars do in favor of simply bashing the NHL for putting teams in warm weather is just idiotic.

The Kings were more profitable when their logo was a gang symbol.

Katalyst: In other hockey news from last night, Karma finally caught up with Ovechkin.

I fully expect a suspension of the player Ovechkin kneed.

MVBone: All snark aside...

I have a genuine nightmare where something like this happens on the ice where a player accidentally swings his sticks and hits a teammate in the back of the head crushing the brain stem. In his sudden horror of seeing his teammate doing the "funky chicken", he figures that there's nothing more for the unlucky stick-swinger to do than put his teammate out of his misery right there on the ice...first with his stick, and then his skate.

After Malarchuk, and after McSorley/Brashear, this incident tonight was the closest I've seen that nightmare come to fruition.

/years of watching minor league hockey as a kid messed me up a bit

you know, i agree w/you. the hits in football are becoming so catastrophic, that i one day envision a hit where the hittee's head comes flying off the body. not the helmet, his entire head. rolling down the field with the camera following it...the brainstem hanging out, the carotid arteries, jugular veins trickling blood...the basilar artery slowing down to a trickle...

/it could happen.

Cheesehead_Dave: FishyFred: And it helps not to steal the last headline about this story.


Huh?

I submitted virtually this same headline pointed to the nhl.com story - which would have eventually had video - about five minutes before this headline showed up on the queue.

Fundamental Thereom Of Farkulus: the hits in football are becoming so catastrophic, that i one day envision a hit where the hittee's head comes flying off the body. not the helmet, his entire head. rolling down the field with the camera following it...the brainstem hanging out, the carotid arteries, jugular veins trickling blood...the basilar artery slowing down to a trickle...

Please tell me you weren't yanking it while you wrote this.

The Mighty O got busted? B-b-but he's the Savior!

Typical Gopher.

Hey, at you're not the hurricanes. 5 minute powerplay, only manage a few somewhat decent chances, no good ones, and 30 seconds after it ends they give up a goal. Bleh.

And we have yet to win a road game.

\Taylor Hall. Taylor Hall. Taylor Hall. Taylor Hall.
\\I feel better now.

I helmet that can withstand 100mph slap shots, that I've seen goalers (including Vokoun) 'pop up' from after getting hit by, and one half swing of a stick, and he needs a stretcher.. wussy. I've been hit by gusts of wind harder than that.

I call shenanigans!!!

Clearly he was hamming it up in hopes that it was a Thrasher that clubbed him to draw any penalty.

Great, just what the NHL needs, Soccer style diving and writhing around after every minor injury or 'potential' boo boo.

germ78: The Kings were more profitable when their logo was a gang symbol.

I suspect that their roster in the Silver and Black years probably had more to do with their success than the color of their jerseys.



Also number 20, number 4, number 17, etc...

mavrickatubc: NewportBarGuy: Why does Florida have a hockey team? Why does Florida have TWO hockey teams?

...and California has 3. It's because the NHL is badly run, and thinks just by locating a team in an area where no one grew up playing hockey, people will magically become fans.

California is also the most populous state in the nation by ~12million people, and home to a huge amount of people from hockey country.

Anyways, Sharks are way high up on the attendence list, Ducks were for the first half of the decade and still sell well, the Kings problems result from poor coaching and front office and they aren't as bad attendance wise as the teams in the South.

In conclusion, EABOD

Drakuun: I helmet that can withstand 100mph slap shots, that I've seen goalers (including Vokoun) 'pop up' from after getting hit by, and one half swing of a stick, and he needs a stretcher.. wussy. I've been hit by gusts of wind harder than that.

I call shenanigans!!!

Clearly he was hamming it up in hopes that it was a Thrasher that clubbed him to draw any penalty.

Great, just what the NHL needs, Soccer style diving and writhing around after every minor injury or 'potential' boo boo.

On the off-chance that you're actually serious, Vokoun suffered a huge gash in his forehead. He was hit near the temple, where the helmet and mask come together. Just because a goalie is wearing armor doesn't render him invincible. You'll notice they're not keen on stopping pucks with their faces.

I'll be at the Ottawa-San Jose game tonight



all i have to ask is.... Toronto/Montreal is on TSN. WHY THE fark IS SJ-OTT NOT ON TSN AS AN AWESOME BACK END OF A DOUBLEHEADER?

this is among the stupidest thing in hockey. notice the douche breaks his stick and then leaves it there, expecting someone else to go pick it up for him.

make it a 2 min unsportsmanlike penalty but call it "2 minutes for ballarding"

J.Garcia'sRightMiddleFinger: Katalyst: In other hockey news from last night, Karma finally caught up with Ovechkin.

I fully expect a suspension of the player Ovechkin kneed.

I can't stand Ovechkin. He does tend to lay a lot of, what look like, deliberately dirty hits and he gets away with it because he's one of the league superstars. I didn't choose him in my fantasy league out of spite. Of course it helps that my alternatives were Crosby or Malkin who I can reasonably assume to be damn close in the points race. Crosby is currently ahead anyway.

december: this is among the stupidest thing in hockey. notice the douche breaks his stick and then leaves it there, expecting someone else to go pick it up for him.

make it a 2 min unsportsmanlike penalty but call it "2 minutes for ballarding"

Refs are already within their rights to hand out penalties for it if they really wanted to.

swahnhennessy: Drakuun: I helmet that can withstand 100mph slap shots, that I've seen goalers (including Vokoun) 'pop up' from after getting hit by, and one half swing of a stick, and he needs a stretcher.. wussy. I've been hit by gusts of wind harder than that.

I call shenanigans!!!

Clearly he was hamming it up in hopes that it was a Thrasher that clubbed him to draw any penalty.

Great, just what the NHL needs, Soccer style diving and writhing around after every minor injury or 'potential' boo boo.

On the off-chance that you're actually serious, Vokoun suffered a huge gash in his forehead. He was hit near the temple, where the helmet and mask come together. Just because a goalie is wearing armor doesn't render him invincible. You'll notice they're not keen on stopping pucks with their faces.

It also looked like he got him with edge not the flat side so it could have easily gotten through there.

DoBeDoBeDo: Frowns on your shenanigans

Heh! I didn't mean SE is in the division, I meant SE as in the region. DC is too far north for anyone to argue a hockey team there.

drkdstryer: mavrickatubc: NewportBarGuy: Why does Florida have a hockey team? Why does Florida have TWO hockey teams?

...and California has 3. It's because the NHL is badly run, and thinks just by locating a team in an area where no one grew up playing hockey, people will magically become fans.

The California teams are all pretty successful though. The Southeast teams are all fairly failtastic, but Dallas is another warm weather team that's very profitable and has a great fanbase. Phoenix, clearly there are problems there.

Ignoring how well the Sharks, Duck, and Stars do in favor of simply bashing the NHL for putting teams in warm weather is just idiotic.

It's pretty simple. Good teams draw well.

drkdstryer: DoBeDoBeDo: Frowns on your shenanigans

Heh! I didn't mean SE is in the division, I meant SE as in the region. DC is too far north for anyone to argue a hockey team there.

As a hurricanes fan, fark off.

WSUCanuck: I'll be at the Ottawa-San Jose game tonight


I'll be at the Sharks/Sens game tonight too. Still not sure if I'm taking my 3 year old son (has a cold)

I took him to his first game a few weeks ago, and he's been slapping a puck around the house with the tiny hockey stick I bought for him.

I wouldn't want someone that appallingly stupid on my team. It's not like Vokoun was out of Keith Ballard's field of vision; Ballard was staring right at Vokoun when Ballard swung his stick full force.

/go Sharks!

Ovechkin got two games for the kneeing, to be served after he's medically cleared to play.

Should've gotten more, but I guess that's a good start (and Gleason wasn't hurt badly). After seeing a lovely video montage of Ovechkin's thuggery in the league over the last few years, I fully expect someone to take his head off with an elbow this year.

Also, god damn did Ballard look upset on the bench afterwards.

Bonus question: Should the league suspend someone for axe-murdering their own teammate?