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Napa, CA • United States • 26 Years Old • Male
John Tortorella, Sean Avery, Donald Brashear... do I really need to say more? Okay I'll add in Matt Cooke just for laughs.

Tortorella complained to reporters after his Rangers lost 8-3 to the defending Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday night that Cooke intentionally hit Rangers forward Artem Anisimov in the head and that the linesman who got hit several times trying to seperate Cooke from Brashear shouldn't have been there in the first place.

“He leaves his feet, it’s an absolute head shot, the linesman jumps in when somebody else is trying to take care of business, that should have been left alone,” Tortorella said. “This is where our game is screwed up as far as I’m concerned. There is just no respect for these types of situations.”

Now Torts may be right, but expect a fine to come down from the league office since the coach shot his mouth off to the press.

And just a quick fact check for you Torts, whose team was hitting from behind all night? Cooke's hit came about two minutes after Sean Avery attempted to hit Sidney Crosby in the head from behind. Crosby upended Avery, but did you really expect the attempt to not be punished in what was a 5-3 game at the time?

And how about how Brashear's first punch, which landed in the back of Cooke's head before Brashear even dropped his gloves? I'm sure the league office will have flashbacks to the Bertuzzi-Moore conflict from a few years abo with that one.

And after Cooke had stepped up against fellow middleweight Ryan Callahan, Sean Avery took it upon himself to continue the rough stuff. Avery jumped on Ruslan Fedotenko from behind and started swinging. All Fedotenko could do was throw Avery to the ice.

I'm not writing this to defend Matt Cooke. He did leave his feet to make that hit, and I would not be surprised to see him receive extra discipline from the league. That being said, the league would be wrong to punish only Cooke for his role and ignore Avery, Brashear and Tortorella.

And another note about the Avery "fight" with Fedotenko, Avery had just left the bench. Ty Kennedy was suspended last season for instigating a fight after he left the bench on a legal line change. Avery apparantly did the exact same thing.

Torts, you're right about Cooke's hit, but quit acting like a crybaby. Your team sucked tonight and you know it. You're trying to do whatever you can to turn attention away from that fact.

UPDATE: NHL has suspended Matt Cooke two games for his hit on Anisimov. Nothing posted yet about Avery, Brashear or Torterella.
Filed Under:   Rangers   Avery   Matt Cooke   Crosby   Penguins  
November 29, 2009 12:01 PM ET | Delete
I do think the officiating has been inconsistent all year. Lundy has been run all year and Avery gets called in the first while skating past Fleury, who was out of the crease) for a little bump. For one of the few times this season, Avery didn't actually look like he intended to "accidentally" bump the goalie either.
November 29, 2009 12:04 PM ET | Delete
I was pissed and turned the game off before the Avery incident late in the 3rd but I am somewhat surprised that the Linsemen jumped in front of Brashear and that he got a double minor when just a game before Lecavalier jumped Avery after a clean check and landed several punches but both players were given just 2 minutes. Double standard or just inconsistency?
November 29, 2009 12:06 PM ET | Delete
Besides, Torts has been pounding into the players' heads that they need to do a better job of standing up for each other. They may have gone overboard last night but Torts still has to defend it some. He is trying to get this team playing better and I hope he gets it done soon.
November 29, 2009 1:38 PM ET | Delete
officiating has been awful this year refs are missing high sticks shots to the head goalies being run but they call the nick nack stuff like hooking and tripping but not the big stuff i agree refs have been awful
November 29, 2009 1:44 PM ET | Delete
Metman: yes you are right. The play that concussed Drury is a fine example. Clearly it was a late hit and the referee is behind the play and I just don't see how he could have missed it but no penalty is called. Rangers high sticked a guy the other night drawing blood and nothing even after a 4 official conference.
November 29, 2009 4:39 PM ET | Delete
Officiating is always going to be inconsistent. Everything is left to the refs' discretion, and they all see the same play differently. Bottom line here is that Avery took a run at Crosby and was made to look like an idiot (not that he needed help). Cooke stood up for his captain by going after a skill player for the Rangers and they took offense to it. Tortorella needs to remove the log from his own eye before trying to help the refs remove the splinter in theirs.
November 29, 2009 4:42 PM ET | Delete
and as for Avery's interference call gkm, that's one of those "repeat offender" calls. Avery's got the reputation, so refs are gonna look for any contact intentional or otherwise. I've seen him be shoved into goalies with a clear cross-check from behind and get called for it. I didn't think it was a penalty either, but the refs aren't going to let him get away with anything.
November 29, 2009 6:30 PM ET | Delete
Not saying it didn't happen but I don't recall Avery running Crosby. I also understand that Avery gets called for phantom offenses based on reputation alone but sooner or later that has to stop. Yes he still bumps goalies when he has a chance but when will the officials feel like they've evened the score. He has played much cleaner this year than in the past.
November 29, 2009 7:13 PM ET | Delete
Not disagreeing with you about the phantom penalties and that they need to stop at some point. Like I said I didn't think it was worth a penalty. Avery's run at Crosby came after Crosby took a shot in the slot that was kicked away. I missed it the first time through also. I didn't even realize they showed a replay until I watched the game a second time through.
November 29, 2009 7:38 PM ET | Delete
I just watched it again on gamecenter. Avery's hit on Crosby came at 13:56. The FSN-Pittsburgh camera panned away just as the hit happened, the best look came on the replay after the Cooke hit (2:07:30 of the broadcast).
November 29, 2009 10:09 PM ET | Delete
I'd go back and see it but I didn't DVR that game unfortunately. I'll take your word for it though. Crosby is not a popular player among his division rivals so I can imagine a guy like Avery or Mike Richards would look to ge a hit on him whenever possible.
November 30, 2009 5:15 PM ET | Delete
too bad you didn't record it. It's probably the best (and only) hit we'll see all year from Crosby.
December 1, 2009 1:06 PM ET | Delete
Crosby is plays the game like a pussy and crystal about everything
December 1, 2009 1:07 PM ET | Delete
Crosby plays the game like a pussy and cries about everything that doesn't go his way
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