Pominville was about ONE SECOND away from possession and was possibly positioning himself in a twisted manner to maintain his position while angling his back toward the approaching player to discourage what would be an illegal hit.

NOWHERE did I say Pominville tried to take that hit just to get a PP. He likely didn't expect the player to hit him as a result of his poistioning---which is my point.

Things are not always as simple as they appear guys.

Doesn't matter. He didn't have the puck. Hjalmersson's timing was off. He also hit him from behind. Stupid decision on his part. Illegal hit by all accounts.

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"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hockey Night in Buffalo

Why are people thinking I'm contesting whether or not the hit was legal? It clearly WAS NOT.

I was simply pointing out that the situation was perhaps not as simple as some believe it was. The Chicago player didn't just decide to take Pominville out. He came in at full speed and misjudged the situation. Pominville's back was facing the approaching player, while his lower half was sideways.

Occam's Razor

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Hold my beer and watch this...

Yeah, but who cares? Don't you understand that it doesn't matter what Hjalmersson's intentions were?

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"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hockey Night in Buffalo

That's like saying a drunk driver who hit a pedestrian misjudged the situation.

Bad judgment is bad judgment, period.

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

Pominville shouldn't have braced for a hit or even expected one until the puck got to his stick.

Stop defending the hit in anyway. It was illegal and shouldn't of happened.

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That has got to be one of the dumbest analogies I have seen here in quite some time...unless you believe that flying in for a check is always a bad idea and/or illegal.

I'm not defending the hit, just pointing out that it was not as intentional as you may think. The Chicago player's pattern of play is inconsistant with it as well.

I have GOT to learn not to try and argue points like this with the "I can smell blood" crowd.

Flying in for a check at that angle in that situation IS always a bad idea. Playing reckless and like a dickbag IS always a bad idea. How the hell can you excuse a guy for coming in at full speed from behind and laying a hit that was completely reckless because oh, hjalmarsson didn't mean to completely clobber him in the numbers and nearly cripple him.

Reckless behavior is not excusable, ever. Drunk driving is reckless behavior. Hitting a guy in that situation is reckless behavior. Don't get all pissy with me because my logic is Brian Campbell and yours is R.J. Umberger.

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

There is a pretty fine line between reasonable and reckless behavior on the ice. NOT so when you choose to get behind the wheel drunk. Use your head.

Yes, and Hjalmarsson's behavior was reckless. The fact that he didn't intend to hurt Pominville means nothing. Glad we agree.

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

the intent doesn't matter. that this is blatant boarding, where hjalmerson's shoulders ended up landing, the fact pominville didn't have puck possession, and the supsequent injury are what matters here.


that's why criminally is saying that its like driving a car drunk. you may get behind your wheel and not intend to injure someone, but guess what, heatley, you're recklessly taking a life in your hand. try getting into a car accident while drunk, and pleading the case you didn't intend on hurting anyone. your intents gonna mean shit.

its actually a pretty good analogy.

Getting behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated is ALWAYS a bad idea. Attempting to ram someone sideways through the boards of a hockey rink is NOT ALWAYS bad.

DWI is inherently dangerous and illegal from the moment you put your keys in the car door forward. That is NOT the case when flying around the ice making split second decisions on who to check and where to check them.

Reality Check:
The lower half of Pominville's body was parallel to Hjalmarssen, while his upper body was twisted away from him. When this guy made his move, I wouldn't be surprised if he thought he could manage to slide into him at such an angle that it would not result in the illegal hitting from "behind". He was obviously wrong. He has apologized and was suspended for 2 games.

Many here are painting with a very broad brush when in fact, like many situations in life, it's not always so black & white, but rather a matter of degrees one way or the other.

You can drum up a grudge if you want to, but like most blood-thirsty cries for retribution, it only distracts from the game.

Trying to hit someone facing 12:00 when you're coming in from 5:45 is always a bad idea.

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

Honestly, does his leg position really matter. As long as his upper body is positioned in a way that the opposing player see's his back should suffice.

So you're basically saying that Pominville is so crazy, reckless, or stupid that he intentionally positioned himself in such a way that could have possible ended his career. That is a HUGE assumption on your part and would be extremely offending if I were Pominville.

We all know that he was positioning himself for an outlet pass and getting ready to turn and burn. There is no way that anyone would get me to believe that he saw Hjalmarsson coming and did nothing about it.

It was illegal and he was punished. I have a feeling we will not see much retribution on the part of the Sabres since the league did take action. I would even believe that the league may be warning lindy not to take matters into his own hands.....but that is just a guess

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No, YOU are actually saying that. My comments don't resemble that statement at all.



Well I guess I better not tell Jason my thoughts on this matter. Thanks for the tip.

Let me sum up the previous 3 pages: Fuck no.

Pomminville did glance over his shoulder a few seconds before the hit. There's no way to know if he saw Hjalmarsson coming or not. It's probable that he was simply trying to see who was where to try and make a quick pass when the puck got to him, but again we do not know.

Regardless of what Pomminville may or may not have done with his body, this much is clear.

- Pomminville had the right to establish position where he did.
- Pomminville was facing the direction he was because that's where the puck was coming from.
- Pomminville did not turn his body late in order to draw a penalty.
- No matter which way Pomminville's body was turned, Hjalmarsson came from behind Pomminville's position.
- Hjalmarsson's shoulder contacted Pomminville directly in the back, right on the number 9. The force of the impact turned Pomminville's body towards and into the boards, and he was injured.

It's a simple as that. This was a textbook boarding call. The onus is on the hitter not to lay a guy out if they can see their opponent's numbers. Hjalmarsson broke that rule clearly, and now sits for two.

All this conspiracy theory bullshit about Pomminville somehow attempting to draw a penalty by positioning himself in a certain way is utter trash.

Ok, I'll rephrase it.....With this statement, albeit possible, any player would be crazy, reckless and or stupid to intentionally position themselves in such a way that could possibly end their career.....or worse. Anything is possible

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Nice side boob.

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"I love that you know how to do that." Cheryl/Carol/Crystal

"And I love that I have an erection that doesn't involve homeless people." Kreiger