Anyone that saw the Coyotes/Stars game over the weekend was privy to watching how the unwritten rules of the NHL work. We saw a big hit to a good player, one of his teammates stick up for the fallen teammate—and quickly there after another teammate getting into a fight with the perpetrator. You won’t find any of this in the NHL rulebook—but any fan that has been around hockey could tell you exactly what to expect.
Within the first 5 minutes of the game, James Neal threw a shoulder into Coyotes forward Petr Prucha planting him into the glass. At full speed, it looked like any other hit that you’ll see within the course of the game. As Prucha went down, a Phoenix Coyotes defenseman went after Neal—for no other reason than the fact that one of his teammates was hit hard. For those outside the sport, it’s something that they’ll never understand. For those inside the sport, it was as expected as a bad Bob Cherry suit.
The emotional reaction to the hit will make some fans irrational. Was it a clean hit? Yes. Was it an unnecessarily violent hit? Not at all. But the fact that Petr Prucha lay motionless for about 7 minutes and left the ice on the stretcher will make the casual observer think that it was a reckless play. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if people in Phoenix thought it was a play that warranted a penalty and possibly suspension.If I lived in Arizona and was a Coyotes fan, I probably would be one of them.
On a personal level, I was conflicted when I saw the hit. Phoenix’s all-Czech line of Hanzal/Prucha/Vrbata has been one of my favorite groups to watch all season. James Neal is one of my favorite young players to watch period. On one level, I have no dog in the fight; but on an NHL fan level, I have a couple of dogs in the fight. At the end of the day, I have no bias towards either side because I like them both.
The consequences for James Neal’s hit weren’t over after JovoCop’s retribution either. On his next shift, Prucha’s fellow Czech linemate Martin Hanzal took Neal to task. Did James Neal whine and complain? Was he pissed? No—he knows its part of hockey.
What was the worst part of this situation? Was it the hit? Was it Jovo’s reaction? Was it the ensuing fight on the Neal’s next shift? No—no to all of them. Probably the worst part of the entire situation was the unforgiving seamless glass at Jobing.com Arena.
Thankfully, Prucha has been released from the hospital and all indications are that he’ll be fine. Just because there was no penalty on the play didn’t mean that Neal didn’t have to answer for his hit—and in instances like this one, that’s exactly the way it should be.
Matt Reitz is the Editor-In-Chief here at ViewFromMySeats.com and former NHL Writer for ProHockeyTalk on NBCSports. When he’s not shoving a mic in the face of NHLers or explaining why home teams should wear white, he’s usually trying to figure out what song to play next on his iPod. It’s a never-ending job.
