None of the hits by James Neal and Aaron Asham were "dirty." Penalties maybe, but dirty no.
1) James Neal hit Claude Giroux seconds after he had given up the puck and Giroux ducked his head into Neal's path. I'm not saying it was Giroux's fault. I'm saying that's called an ACCIDENT ladies and gents.
2) James Neal "left his feet" and hit Sean Couturier. The puck was headed back into the zone. Neal took a turn back towards the blue line and Couturier was in his path. He only left his feet because he tried to side step Couturier. For people that will defend illegal hits in the NFL because they're split second reactions, it's amazing that you'll all contradict yourself when the same thing happens in hockey.
3) Aaron Asham cross checks Brayden Schenn in the "face." No he didn't. He hit him in the chest. It might have eventually hit him in the face, but the initial contact went to the chest. And let's be VERY clear. Asham should have just dropped the gloves and started wailing on him because he took a run at a player and he left his feet.
If you don't agree with me, that's fine. I mean, there's only visual evidence of every one of these hits, so I guess I could have no idea what I'm talking about.
In any case, it's not looking too great for the Penguins to come out of this series on top. The overwhelming favorites to win it all, the Penguins have laid an egg. I believe the Penguins will fight to the bitter end and, hell, the way the Flyers have looked, would it really shock anyone if the Penguins somehow pulled this off?
But if the Penguins want to win this series, they may need to continue to give the Flyers a taste of their own medicine. Oh come on, you know what I'm talking about. Don't pretend that the same team, that built their entire tradition on thuggery and goonery (Broadstreet Bullies anyone), has all of a sudden become squeaky clean. We know what's going on when the cameras aren't watching. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and especially James Neal, do not start going after players without some antagonizing.
I'm not saying the Penguins should stoop to the Flyers level. It's actually amusing that Flyers fans are reading the articles in Pittsburgh that say Penguins fans are "embarrassed", and completely missing the fact that we're embarrassed because we look like the Flyers. But that doesn't mean that we should start playing gentlemanly hockey. The Penguins need to be rough, but they need to be smart. In a twisted sense of justice, it would make sense for the Penguins to go after and hurt players, the way the Flyers have for years. Personally, I am that twisted, but not at the expense of losing games. The Penguins can win, but dumb penalties aren't going to fly. Roughing guys up away from the officials the way the Flyers have, now that needs to happen.
It's time for the Penguins to play Flyers hockey of the present, not of the past. These Flyers have it together. They're cheap shot artists, but they don't hurt guys, and more importantly, they don't get caught. The Flyers of old tried to kill people. That flew in 1977, but this is 2012. We aren't going to get away with that, but if the Pens aren't going to win, they better make sure the Flyers are bruised and battered. It's time for the Penguins to start playing Flyers' hockey.
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