And the Bodies are Flying Out There!

Woodpeck is getting more & more frustrated with the sheer volume of retaliation scrums after clean hits in NHL games of late.  We just don’t get it.  Its a legal move so live with it.  Sure your teammate just got rocked and some retaliation might be nice.  But how about later in the game?  Not right after the hit!  Take a number & head to the bench to stew it over.  It does nothing for the flow of the game for every1 involved (you, your team, the fans) to have a scrum after a clean hit.  The refs need be putting an end to this & calling all the players into the box that are involved in these scrums.  That is what the penalty is in these situations. 

What we want to see after a clean hit is the play that follows.  Whether or not it results in a good offensive chance for the aggressor or the offender gets his revenge by putting the puck in net.  Not a silly scrum!  SCRUMS ARE KILLING THE GAME!  Its childish, embarassing and proves the hockey players can’t contain their emotions.  Get a grip and play on! Stop killing the flow of the game with scrums!  We want to see hockey played.  Period.  These scrums are robbing the fans of what could have been.  Robbing us of what could have come of a clean hit & a legal play.  Kudos to the players out there that take the chance & make these clean hits.  Thumbs down to the instigators of the melee’s afterwards.

Here’s a video compilation of some of what we’re talking about.  We’re sure all of these hits (some illegal hits are included here) resulted in scrums.  Also, some dude from the Hockey News had this to say about after whistle scrums.  Not quite what we are talking about but close.  Though those scrums are also an issue, we are more concerned about the scrums that STOP play.  It should be an automatic penalty for any players starting a scrum after a clean hit!  Now where did we put that phone number for the NHL head office…