"Well I think it was late and he nailed our guy who was in a defenseless position. I won't forget that."
- Chris Neil on Colby Armstrong's hit on Patrick Eaves
Dear Chris,
Perhaps Eaves should've had his head up and his helmet properly affixed.
Love,
Heather
Should we break out the stopwatch and time exactly how late the hit was? Okay seriously, I know this is largely posturing on Chris Neil's part. He has to take the side of his teammate. And I know, regardless of what people want to think, it is different when it happens to one of your boys. But still... sounding a taaad hypocricial there, Chrissy. I know Armstrong is developing a reputation but atleast he had the decency to look concerned about Eaves afterward.
Quick thoughts:
-Briere and Pominville need to be a lot more noticeable than they have been.
-Miller needs to tighten it up a bit. The team held the Islanders shot-less for 16 minutes and in minute 17 he let a terrible softie in.
-Afinogenov and Vanek need to start burying some of their chances.
-The forwards need to just throw shots on net without worrying about them being perfectly placed.
-Everyone in Sabres' Nation needs to chill the heck out and take a deep breath.
See you after the game!
3 comments:
It's totally pot calling the kettle on Neil's part but I suppose you can't really expect him to say anything else. Plus it's Eaves! Poor little Eaves who apparently has trouble working his iPod and still lives with mommy and daddy got taken off on a stretcher!
I think Neil just likes any excuse he can get to stir the pot though :P
If Neil's going to hit people like that, he can't suddenly have a problem with it when it happens to his team. Well, obviously he can but he can't expect anyone to take what he says remotely seriously. What, he wants to be that kind of player but if anyone else does it it's wrong? Not that he's unique in that. He's probably in the company of most of the other guys who play that way.
I like Eaves and I hated seeing him laid out like that, but it totally rubbed me the wrong way to hear Neil complain about a hit being late on a defenseless player when his hit on Drury was... late and on a defenseless player. At the very least, Armstrong was coming at Eaves from the front. I'm sure my Buffalo bias plays a big part in my level of annoyance however. I think there was a way for Neil to come to his Eaves' defense without sounding like an ass, that's all. But that doesn't seem to be in Neil's personality :-)
My real problem is that I'm beginning to feel that hits like that shouldn't be legal. If you hit a guy in the head, no matter how it happens, have a seat in the box. I'm tired of hearing "it was a good hockey hit" while guys are being helped off the ice.
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