http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Video-Neil-takes-Ovechkin-stick-to-midsection-?urn=nhl-wp19284

Neil hits Ovie hard into the corner boards and as they start skating away Ovie skates near Neil and his stick blade comes up and "appears" to hit Neil in the abdomen/gonads area. Neil hits the ice and gets called for diving. Ovie gets nothing..... Was it just do to Ovie's stride or did he do it purposely? You decide....

I didn't know diving can be called without a companion penalty to the "offending" player.

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To me that looks like one of those plays where Ovechkin should get penalized for spearing AND Neil called for diving. Ovie definitely speared him, but it didn't look all that hard and Neil had a bit of an overreaction to draw the refs notice. IMO, of course.

Agreed. Ovi is too good a player to not know what he was doing with his stick. He meant to hit Neil. Not that I blame him...

If Neil wasnt busy diving he would have been busy trying to clock Ovie. In this instance Id agree with a both spearing and diving scenario

So true. It was a dirty play but this is the first time (that I remember) a diving call didn't accompany the offense that caused the dive.

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That's how I think diving should almost always be called. If a penalty was enough to warrant being called, then call just the trip or the hook, unless the embellishment was excessive. If you're calling a dive, then the the penalty probably wasn't enough to warrant a call.

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Totally. It makes ZERO sense to me when they call both a diving penalty, AND the penalty which 'caused' the diving. IF he was tripped, call tripping. If the guy dove, call diving. They're pretty much mutually exclusive.

Ovie isn't Matt Cooke dirty, and I don't believe he has that mindset, I just think he can be... Sort of an aggressive guy who goes overboard. Let's also realize this is Neil. He deserves it.

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"Counting all the assholes in the room, I'm definitely not alone!" ~ Michael Poulsen, Volbeat, Still Standing.

matt cooke dirty?

sure, if you define dirty as having 10 PIMs in 29 games dirty

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PSA: I am an overly sarcastic person. If you take me at my word, then i will most likely anger and offend you.

Dirty doesn't mean they get penalized. You can be dirty behind the plays.

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OV is dirty no mater if Neil deserved that or not.

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just call me Brad

Twitter @BUrbanowicz13

Listen, I can find so many youtube videos proving my point. I wouldn't defend Matt Cooke. Ever.

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"Counting all the assholes in the room, I'm definitely not alone!" ~ Michael Poulsen, Volbeat, Still Standing.

if you dont think matt cooke is a dirty player, i seriously am thinking about questioning your hockey knowledge...

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FIGHTER OF THE NIGHTMAN

"on the ice now for buffalo, looking for the pass, and gets it, afinogenov, couldnt get the shot away, now HE DOES, HE SCORES!!!! HOLY MACKEREL ROLE THE HIGH LIGHT FILM, MAXIM AFINOGENOV, WHAT A MOVE!!!!.... thats not fair... that was unbelievable"
-R.J. and Lorenz

This season is an abnormality for Cooke. He's been playing crazy good hockey and has calmed down on the shit. In years past he's been one of the dirtiest players in the league. Remember he single handedly ended Marc Savards career.....

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i know that, but i have faith that matt cooke has changed, as shown by this season. He will most likely prove me wrong but, until he does, im going to believe that he is a changed man.

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PSA: I am an overly sarcastic person. If you take me at my word, then i will most likely anger and offend you.

He said he was a changed man about... 3 hits ago.

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"Counting all the assholes in the room, I'm definitely not alone!" ~ Michael Poulsen, Volbeat, Still Standing.

A lot can happen away from the play. Let us not forget Danny Briere spearing Ovie in the groin a few years back before he was allowed to walk out of here without a contract offer.

Do we consider Danny Briere a dirty player?

If that didn't illustrate Darcy's acumen as an NHL "GM"; I don't know what does.

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"I'll rap you with my cane; you pencil necked geek!!"

-Bowler, imitating Freddy Blassie, at the very first M & G.

HOWIE! please stay!

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I turned a blind eye to a lot of Briere's play when he was with us.

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"...they came down into the stands and asked if I knew how to do play by play. I said...No. But. I'll take a shot at it if you want".- Rick Jeanneret

Briere is a bit of a dirty player though, sure he doesnt end careers like some guys but hes far from a saint