Posted by  Bob Remer, Seffner on 01/02  at  06:25 PM

I agree that it did not look like a penalty. My problem is that had that been #76 Arty putting Ovechkin into the boards, not only would there have been a penalty but the weasel Buttman would be looking to suspend him. Guaranteed!

Posted by  William Healey, Cowichan Bay, B.C. Canada on 01/02  at  02:17 PM

I totally agree with Joes comments. I have been an avid hockey fan for forty years now, and I have seen alot of big hits, clean and dirty. This was not a big hit or a dirty check!!! I could not tell with the replay if he (caught a rut, when hit!). The bolts players agreed or all hell would have broke loose. Jamie played with Washington for a couple of years and all were very concerned when he got hurt. The most important thing is he is going to be ok. Ovechkin plays the game with a lot of heart and emotion and did not intend on hurting anyone. What other player would skate in to the Bolts team attending to Jamie on the ice and spend hours after the game outside the Bolts dressing room waiting on an update on Jamie’s condition.

Posted by  Joe, philadelphia on 01/02  at  11:47 AM

i definately disagree with what others are saying. I live in philly and i’m a flyers fan so i have no bias but it definately was not a cheap hit. that type of hit happens 20 times a game a 99.9% of the time the player doesnt get hurt. There was no intent to injure Heward and he wasnt thrown into the boards. Just because he went into the boards awkwardly does not mean ovechkin should be penalized. If that type of hit is going to be penalized then the entire length of a hockey game is going to be spent on the pk/pp

Posted by  CB Shark,  on 01/02  at  11:01 AM

Dirty hit or not? Who cares. When your teammate is down with a hit from behing then 29 other teams goes after him immediately for retribution. We just look on.  Ovechkin is known for running people in case you haven’t been watching anything other than bolts games… No team in the league will respect that kind of no guts play and should continue to take liberty w/ MSL and V like always. A gutless, pitiful example of the “modern” hockey player.

Posted by  Bolt Fan, S. Pasadena, FL on 01/02  at  03:11 AM

Even so, it should have been penalized.  If a player takes a hand off a stick and only touches a player with that hand, it is called.  When Heward got boarded, it should have been penalized; but, it was done by a star.  I totally think that if it had been done to someone by Arty, there would have been a penalty.

Still a double standard, dirty or not.  Not all penalties are dirty, like when Ranger panics and throws the puck over the glass.  He didn’t intend to do that, but still gets a penalty.