Hockey 2010-2011

[smc]

Originally Posted by ila

At 10 seconds into the video Chara clearly has his right foot off the ice. This doesn't necessarily indicate a dirty hit, only that Chara was able to put more force behind his bodycheck.

"Able to" -- yes, but the question is one of intent. As someone who skates and plays hockey, I know that there are lots of times when I have a foot off the ice. I think that plus the particular location of the bodycheck was a combination for disaster, but it still doesn't indicate intent. True, Pacioretty and Chara have some history, but Chara just has zero reputation for being a dirty player.

If I thought there was intent, I'd be screaming for a suspension -- not that my voice matters. But I have argued long and hard with my Bruins fans friends about how Andrew Ference was treated after his statement criticizing a teammate for a questionable hit, and I had an argument with Mike Milbury about it a few weeks ago at the store in my neighborhood he shops at!