Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo!‘s Puck Daddy breaks down the reaction to Phaneur’s demolition of Okposo, and takes on the two questions on everyone’s mind: was the hit legal, and was such a hard hit kosher for a preseason game? Regarding the hit’s legality:
Yahoo!‘s Puck Daddy Analyzes the Hit
Islanders goalie Marty Biron said after game that “it definitely looked like feet went up,” and they did — but on impact, not before it. He didn’t leave his skates to make the hit, at least from the angles I’ve seen. Did Dion lead with this elbow, as Lighthouse Hockey claimed last night? I don’t believe he did intentionally, but that’s not to say his elbow didn’t make contact. Watch it again: Phaneuf appears to make contact with almost his entire back to Okposo. It’s an awkward, awkward check.
Okposo’s positioning plays into this thing, too. On the replay, Nigel Dawes(notes) jostles him from behind as he’s carrying the puck, and that puts Okposo in a prone position for Phaneuf’s hit. Those defending Dion are making the Lindros-ian “keep your head up” argument about the Islanders winger; it’s less that than just being in a vulnerable position at the wrong time. It’s a mitigating circumstance; it’s not Brandon Sutter putting himself in a prone position before Doug Weight freight-trains him.
It’s a legal hit. Debate it’s morality or integrity, but it’s legal.
As for whether Phaneuf should be unleashing the fury like this in the preseason, Wyshynski says:
Why does preseason hockey exist? Why does a sport whose regular-season is too grueling and whose postseason is too brutal play a series of fake games leading up to the real ones? We know it’s mostly for profit, at least in cities where the franchise isn’t tied up in bankruptcy court. But it’s also to prepare for the season.
Maybe that means finding your shot or your pad save. Maybe that means finding chemistry with line-mates. For Phaneuf, it means getting prepared to play his style of hockey when the games count, and the Okposo hit is how he plays. […] So yes, Phaneuf really did need to hit the kid that [expletive] hard considering it’s the preseason, because hockey between opposing teams in front of arena crowds can’t be played in some benign, half-assed, pacifist manner. Those are called “scrimmages,” and if we’re worried that players are endangered by inter-squad play then simply make the preseason intra-squad games
See More:
