The NHL's Barnum and Bailey Act

By now you’ve probably seen the circus act that was Game 3 between the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens. Myriad opinions abound about the tactics used and the actions undertaken in that game, with some fans revelling in the “old-time hockey”-style of play, while others, such as Ken Campbell from The Hockey News, have denounced it.

For once, I agree with Campbell, whom I find to be a figure as polarizing as the events that took place in Game 3.

I’m all for playing tough, physical, on the edge hockey that hockey fans have become accustomed to during the NHL playoffs, but the actions that took place on Sunday make a mockery of the game, and how it should be played.

Players have to walk a fine line during the playoffs, knowing that going overboard can cost their team dearly and for the Montreal Canadiens, they brought the loss upon themselves, self-destructing in every facet of the game and letting their emotions get the better of them.

It started with Max Pacioretty’s blatant, and stupid, hack on Jakob Silfverberg as the two skated toward their respective benches. It ended with both teams having little more than a few skaters left on the bench to the play out the game when all was said and done.

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After another bone-headed move by Ryan White in the form of a vicious slash, all hell was bound to break loose. The line brawl harkens back to the NHL’s yesteryears, and many haven’t seen the likes of it in a long time. Yes, indeed all 10 players paired up and squared off, and one could sense that any shred of respectability the game had remaining was tossed swiftly out the window.

My own particular stance on fighting is that there is a place in the game for it. Without it, the gutless stick work such as White’s slash mean the perpetrator isn’t held accountable. I feel it acts as a deterrent, and say what you want about staged fights, but a good old-fashioned tilt can inject energy into a building. You hear a lot of debate about fighting these days, but everyone in the rink stands up when two players square off. It’s the fights that occur after a clean hit that are bothersome, and frankly, an immature response to a legal play. But sticking up for your teammates has been, and always will be, an integral part of the game.

However, when it comes to some of what transpired on Sunday, there’s no place in the game for it. The elbow from Rene Bourque on Cory Conacher, Brandon Prust with the attempted head shot on Conacher, before Brendan Gallagher decided sucker punching an unsuspecting player who still had his gloves on is nothing but an embarrassment. Ditto for P.K. Subban throwing punches at Kyle Turris while he’s down on the ice. The same goes for Paul MacLean calling a timeout and elongating a game that was out of hand, and don’t even get me started on Josh Gorges winding up for a slap shot and drilling it at Kyle Turris as time expired.

Sunday was the perfect example of inmates running the asylum, as it’s always been in the NHL. No suspensions were handed out after the game, and as Campbell mentioned, it is no surprise incidents like this occur when “The Code” overrides the Rulebook. It leads to retribution and revenge overriding accountability. Some might say that it was payback for Eric Gryba’s hit on Lars Eller, but there are right and wrong ways to go about it. If you want to play a more physical game to punish the Sens and wear them down, go for it. Ditto if you want to look for a big hit to change the tone of the series. But resorting to senseless and classless acts of violence has no place in the game. Furthermore, the Gryba revenge scheme holds little merit considering he was sitting Game 3 out serving a suspension for the aforementioned hit on Eller.

As I wrote about early in the year, the NHL doles out suspensions largely based on the end result (injuries). So because Conacher and Turris weren’t hurt, does that mean the actions of Bourque, Gallagher, Subban and Gorges are merited? It would appear that way, because every single one of their actions has malicious intent. Unfortunately, so long as the rulebook takes a backseat to the code, the NHL will continue on their ridiculously hypocritical path to improving player safety, and the circus will be headed to a town near you sooner than you think.

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