For almost as long as there has been professional hockey, there has been a rivalry between the Montréal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins, with the two teams facing off for the first time on December 8, 1924. And there's no bigger stage for such a heated rivalry than the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And with the two teams embroiled in yet another intense battle (their 34th playoff series), there's no better time to talk about what I think added fuel to the fire of this modern day rivalry.
The incident I'm referring to of course, is the one that is etched into the minds of many devoted Habs fans, the Chara hit on Max Pacioretty (look that up on YouTube) when at 19:40 of the 2nd period of a game played on March 8, 2011, Patch was drove into the stanchion near the end of the Boston Bruins bench. For several moments after, Pacioretty lay motionless on the ice, where he would be lifted off on a stretcher and brought to the hospital. Chara, for his part, was assessed a 5 minute major and game misconduct for his actions. Upon further review of said play, the league decided on no further action on him, deeming what happened to be a "hockey play". The next day, it was revealed that he (Pacioretty) had a fracture to the 4th cervical vertebra (C4), and a severe concussion.
When Annakin Slayd, in his 2011 Habs anthem " MTL Stand Up" (can also be found on YouTube) said "if that's a hockey play, then hockey must change / Wanna be proud of our sport, not ashamed...", the words resonated with a lot of Habs fans. After nothing was done about the very obvious headshot to Max, many fans felt ashamed of the league. How could it be a "hockey play" when a young man almost had his career ended? What kind of message was being sent to the rest of the league about headshots? The league was (and still is) trying to eliminate headshots from the game, and a more severe punishment here (i.e: a suspension) would've sent the message that this was something that they were not going to tolerate. But instead, as we all know, nothing was done, and headshots continue to be an issue.
I think the lack of punishment is what added fuel to an already very heated fire. Many fans were outraged that the league could let someone get away with what he'd done. Many wanted blood, and rightly so, but the cries of fans were all for naught. 5 minutes and a game misconduct, which to many seemed too light a punishment, a slap on the wrist, if you will for a hit that caused such a serious injury. And then Mark Recchi saying the injury wasn't as serious as everyone thought, and that Max had been embellishing? You're kidding me right? What does he know about spinal injuries? When did he get his degree?
What a joke.
I think what bothers me the most in all of this is that I see some Bruins fans saying "I wish he'd hit him harder." What would make a person say that? Is your hatred so intense that you would wish harm upon another human being? I understand the Habs/Bruins rivalry is a much heated one, but there is something wrong if you want another human being to be hurt.
I won't say I hate the Bruins, but my dislike is a strong one, only for their style of play. There's an intent to injure there, and all I can do is hope and pray that there's never another repeat of that very frightening incident back in March of 2011.
Go Habs Go!
No comments:
Post a Comment