The Detroit Red Wings lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in game 3 of the Western Conference Finals last night at the United Center in Chicago, 4-3 in OT. The Wings scored 3 unanswered goals in the second period to erase a 3-0 deficit, chasing goalie Nikolai “the Bulin Wall” Khabibulin from the game, but lost on a Patrick Sharp goal 1:52 into the extra period. Sharp has surprisingly been the Hawks’ main offensive threat this series so far.
But the real story of the game was the hit to end all hits in the first period that Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall laid on Martin Havlat, who has been another playmaker for the Hawks in the playoffs. The puck was passed to Havlat as he approached his own blue line along the boards, and as he looked down to find the puck, which was between his skates at the time of contact, Kronwall skated up and lowered the boom. I mean he absolutely blew the poor guy up, knocking Havlat unconscious on his feet. Check out the gruesome footage below, but be warned that it’s not for the faint of heart. If you have a medical condition, please consult your physician before watching this tape:
First of all, I hope Havlat is okay. You never like to see anyone get hurt in a sporting event. But the fact that Kronwall was penalized for this hit is a travesty. The puck is at Havlat’s feet, even though he isn’t able to get his stick on it. If you pause the hit at contact, you can see that Kronwall does NOT leave his skates to deliver the blow. The fact that his skates leave the ice when he subsequently falls onto Havlat because Havlat folds like a deck of cards is irrelevant. Furthermore, he clearly hits Havlat with his left shoulder. The fact that Havlat was not looking up at the time is also irrelevant. Is it a penalty in football when a guy blocks another player who isn’t looking directly at him? Of course not. Coaches teach players in all sports to always keep their heads up for a reason.
So it was unfortunate that the refs hit Kronwall with not only a 5 minute major, but also a game misconduct. This was a clean, perfectly legal hit. Don’t get me wrong, it was vicious, but it was clean. I just wish Chris Tucker had been there to witness the hit. If he were on the ice, he might have stood over the limp Havlat and screamed this:
Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals is tomorrow at the United Center at 3pm EST, on NBC. Hopefully, Marty Havlat has cleaned the excrement out of his shorts in time for the game.
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