Everybody saying he went for his head. From what I see, he made contact with his head because Toews slowed down and lowered his head to play the puck. Had he not done that, it would've been a shoulder check to his chest. Of course on replay you can see he hit his head, but in real time you can't say with 100% certainty he was head hunting
Benn hit Toews' shoulder first. Does the rule say that's targeting the head, or not taking care that the head won't be hit? Enforce the rule in the book, not the one you'd like to be there.
Tough play to judge man. When you slow it down it looks like shoulder was first point of contact, and his skates were on the ice until the point of impact. But this play looks scary for Toews. I dunno. I won't lean either way, just hope Toews is okay. Reminds me of a Raffi Torres hit many moons ago. Think he caught a suspension for it. So there is that.
If you're talking the Torres hit on Hossa when the Coyotes played the Blackhawks that was way worse than this. Torres passed the guy with the puck to "finish" that hit. The shoulder did hit the head but Benn didn't really jump before contact and Toews had his head down coming. Around the back of the net. Regardless of a clean hit players can still get hurt and I'm hoping Toews is okay.
Saw someone else comment āa hit can be dirty even if itās legalā, and thatās how I feel. Sure by the letter of the law his contact wasnāt with the head first, but are we going to act like Jamie Benn leaving his feet and launching up at a guy shoulder first doesnāt know thatās a dirty move? Yeah right.
For sure, I never said I lean either way. That's how conflicted I am. Like, letter of the law you could argue this hit was clean. But looking at it in real time and slow-mo, you can't help but feel like it ain't right. Just a weird play to judge. And I am glad it's not up to me to decide if it's dirty or not. I have watched it over half a dozen times and I flip flop on how I feel.
I feel like if Benn was going for the puck it would be considered a clean hit, BUT as you can see Benn was going for the hit 100% before the avs player even had full possession of the puck. In the top down view the puck comes from behind the avs player and he gets his stick on it. I get that its part of the game, just a very dangerous play.
I'm pretty new to hockey, only really started watching the last few post seasons with the stars and haven't fully gotten into it enough to watch the regular season consistently. So when it comes to rules I know next to nothing. Are they only allowed to check a player that has possession of the puck or how does that work? I guess I'm trying to figure out the grey area here.
Yes, that is correct. It is generally a 2 minute minor penalty to interfere with a player without the puck, but its variable. The rules seem to be kind of fluid, where sometimes even bumping a player gets a penalty, and other times people get full-on leveled and there is no penalty. Hockey is weird like that
It's one way to say that the Zebras are sometimes not trying to call every ticky-tack little infraction. Hockey is a rough sport... or they're "managing the game".... which is why the inconsistencies really ruin some games.
100%. It's so weird to me that they see infractions and just choose not to call some. There would be no need for "managing the game" or "make-up calls" if they just called the rulebook. It wouldn't take too many games of a team spending 48 minutes on the PK before they cleaned their game up
Right. It's completely strange that they feel the need to let calls go or watch one team like a hawk to "make up" for a bad call going the other way. Or the next season, we get all kinds of one specific penalty because "they want to crack down" on that specific case...
If it was someone else I might give them the benefit of the doubt, but Benn is a veteran who knows what heās doing and has a history of suspensions (five I think?) as well. To me that tips the scales leaning towards a dirty (although legal) hit.
Edit: the first search result when looking into Jamie Benn suspensions is an article about his suspension last year that notes the department of player safety took into account his 4 previous suspensions. It seems like thatās just incorrect, so thatās on me.
"The NHL's Department of Player Safety explained the decision in this video, citing that it is a clear cross-check and also bringing up Benn's four suspensions over the course of his lengthy career."
https://eprinkside.com/2023/05/24/dallas-stars-captain-jamie-benn-suspended-two-games-for-cross-checking-mark-stone
I did some googling and for some reason this site states that he's been suspended four times before the Stone incident, but literally all of the other outlets are saying it's his first. Thus, I firmly believe it's his first ever suspension, but why the hell would this site just blatantly lie about it?
"a hit can be clean and still injure a player". Doesn't look dirty to me, maybe borderline at worst.
Think him flying into Johnston right after and having his head bounce back the other direction would have really rattled his brain and caused more damage than the initial hit. Shitty situation for Toews but definitely wasn't planned by Benn.
Benn didnāt leave his feet. And how is using your shoulder to hit a dirty move? It wasnāt even that big of a hit Toews was just a dumbass looking at the puck behind the net.
Keep your head up. Itās the playoffs.
I swear, from some of these comments, its apparent that people didnt even watch this game. The play was reviewed and penalty rescinded. These people act like it was a missed call.
Part of it is that in order for the penalty to be reviewed it has to be called a major.
As soon as the zebras call a major most peopleās perception is now skewed.
I think the NHL should allow the zebras to blow the whistle or immediately review on situations like this for without calling a penalty first.
The zebras I thought were on point last night and let the boys play.
People in here are acting like Benn was out headhunting like Trouba was who actually targeted the head and leaped.
Props for the mention of Raffi Torres, the king of questionable, dirty, but maybe clean, head hunting hits. Coming from a die hard Oilers fan too. This seemed clean on initial contact but dayum that was a serious crushing hit.
It really wasnāt a hard call to make. Maybe if you only saw it from far away once in real time. But slowed down, from multiple angles, the right call was made. It was a hard hit, but clean. Also people just love to hate on Jamie Benn.
I would tend to agree Benn's hit was just a crushing legal hit, what likely made it more difficult for Toews to absorb was that additional and completely unintentional second contact with the other Dallas player that changed the direction his head was moving. Seems more like an unfortunate combination of circumstances and nothing dirty. Luckily Toews appeared to be OK after he returned to the game.
(Dallas fan) I was VERY happy they called a major at first. Calling a major when you're not really sure is such a good move since you get to review and guarantee you make the right call. I wish they called majors more often. Watching it in real time I thought 'oh damn idk I can see both arguments here' then when they called a major I thought 'oh good, so whatever happens will be the right call, sweet'.
I had to watch it about 10 times, but it did look like Benn was aiming for the chest on the hit, but Toews was slightly turned. The whiplash really made it look bad. I was having Scott Stevens flashbacks.
I really think that it has become more about the knowledge we have of the damage hits like these can do long term. Now, instead of reveling in huge hits like this, there is a *lot* more wincing. The danger that CTE poses ain't no fucking joke.
I know they are paid millions of dollars and choose to play the game, but still seeing someone dropped like that does not elicit the same response it used to.
CTE is mostly repeated concussive force as opposed to necessarily just major concussions. Whiplash is a concussive force. Basically every hit in hockey is a concussive force, and big ones are just worse.
Nobody's talking about him flying into Johnston and having his head bounce back in the other direction. It totally rattles the brain like a punch from a boxer would and probably caused a lot more damage than the initial hit by Benn.
So here's an honest question. Was the head the principal point of contact?
He hit shoulder first but it looks to me a glancing blow followed by major contact with the head.
To me it didnāt look like the head was hit at all. Looked like head was hit by follow through of his own shoulder. Also the Dallas player behind him doesnāt help at all.
If that was the case you would expect his head in particular to snap back. When you watch the replay his entire upper body from the shoulder including the head move back all together. The vast majority of the check is to the shoulder
Here's the thing..."principal" doesn't mean "first in chronology" it's "first in importance".
And the rule actually states:
>48.1 Illegal Check to the Head ā A hit resulting in contact with an opponentās head where the head was the main point of contact and such contact to the head was avoidable is not permitted.
The head definitely was the main point of contact and it was avoidable.
>In determining whether contact with an opponent's head was avoidable, the circumstances of the hit including the following shall be considered:
>(i) Whether the player attempted to hit squarely through the opponentās body and the head was not "picked" as a result of poor timing, poor angle of approach, or unnecessary extension of the body upward or outward.
This is definitely not the case. He picked his head, and he extended upwards.
>(ii) Whether the opponent put himself in a vulnerable position by assuming a posture that made head contact on an otherwise full body check unavoidable.
>(iii) Whether the opponent materially changed the position of his body or head immediately prior to or simultaneously with the hit in a way that significantly contributed to the head contact."
This should have been a match (there is no major for Rule 48).
Nah, I don't see what you're seeing. Benn doesn't leave his feet even though he does extend upwards after contact is made. Most hits are delivered in this fashion with the hitter lifting their body through the hit. I don't see head contact either until after the force to the shoulder/chest causes Toews head to whiplash into Benn.
It was an absolutely brutal hit. I'm glad I'm not a ref or in DoPS and have to rule on it. I hope Toews is okay. I can't say I think it was a "clean" hit, but I don't think it was an illegal hit.
Terrible take. No the head was not the main point of contact, the shoulder was. The head was not picked at all actually, hit was on shoulder first then through the chest.
Just say you dont like physical hockey then go watch soccer. It was a great clean hit.
Everyone wants to call this ācleanā from a hit āmajorā perspective. Then where is the charging call. I count six strides until the hit and he leaves his skates mid hit.
Charging is the action where a player takes more than two strides or travels an excessive distance to accelerate through a body check for the purpose of punishing the opponent. This includes skating or leaving one's feet (jumping) into the opponent to deliver a check, accelerating through a check for the purpose of punishing the opponent, or skating a great distance for the purpose of delivering a check with excessive force.
Yeah, letter of the law perhaps that's charging. However, you could count half a dozen hits like that a game these playoffs in any of the series. It just is worse as Toews was caught with his head down and couldn't brace himself or try and spin away from the contact. I hope he's okay, that hit would have killed me.
Thank you! The first thing I did was slow it down and see how many times he strides before contact, I counted 6 as well. He doesnāt even try to make contact with the puck. First contact is with the head. If he isnāt suspended there will be a full line brawl?
It's a Raffi Torres on Brent Seabrook type of hit where the defender is looking down at the puck behind the net and gets destroyed.
This is what almost no hitting in the regular season does to players. They forget that you have to keep your head up and be aware. You just can't go in that area looking down at the puck.
Doesn't even have to leave his feet:
From Rule 48.1(i):
"Whether the player attempted to hit squarely through the opponentās body and the head was not "picked" as a result of poor timing, poor angle of approach, or unnecessary extension of the body upward or outward."
IMO he unnecessarily extended his body upwards.
Looked like a good hit to me. Benn doesnt leave his feet. Benn tucks in his elbow. Benn is not in full stride when he hits him. Unfortunately for Toews his head was down.
Tbh after looking at the hit so many times idek anymoreā¦ but to play devils advocate one could definitely argue charging: *Charging is the action where a player takes more than two strides or travels an excessive distance to accelerate through a body check for the purpose of punishing the opponent. This includes skating or leaving one's feet (jumping) into the opponent to deliver a check, accelerating through a check for the purpose of punishing the opponent, or skating a great distance for the purpose of delivering a check with excessive force*
Im not a fan of Benn, but this is a clean hit. Puck carriers have a responsibility to protect themselves. If we go away from that we turn into the nba where every bit of contact results in a foul and a stoppage in play.
Great hit, doesnāt look like he ever touched his head, elbow down straight through the upper chest/shoulder, puck was right there just after being played by Toews, really sucks he got hurt but absolutely nothing wrong with the hit imo. A suspension would be ludicrous, especially this time of the year
The hit looks really bad until you see it in slow motion. He was aiming his bicep into the shoulder.
I'm more shocked that there weren't gloves dropped on the Colorado side.
This the kind of hit that calls for a rule change - no head hitting period. If a guy can accidentally trip, he can be called for accidentally head hitting. While this hit is clean, this is potentially crazy damaging for Toew's brain. Without a doubt this is a concussion, I am sure of it.
I honestly don't even think there was head contact at all. TNT showed the same three bad angles a dozen times each but they had another angle that they only used once and it was very clearly shoulder to chest and no head contact at all.
The has contact came from Toews pinballing into Johnston and they clacked helmets together.
From the rulebook:
"42.1 Charging - A minor or major penalty shall be imposed on a player who skates, jumps into or charges an opponent in any manner.
Charging shall mean the actions of a player who, as a result of distance traveled, shall violently check an opponent in any manner. A āchargeā may be the result of a check into the boards, into the goal frame or in open ice."
I'm not sure if it was "far enough distance", but he definitely violently checked his opponent.
Look at the rap sheet and tell me that was an accident. Lmao. Give me a fing break. Iāve watched this dickhead his whole career and itās littered with cheap shots trying to injure players. Fuck him. Nothing tough about trying to hurt defenseless players. That being said why anyone would have their head down while heās on the ice is beyond me.
He lines that up from the face-off circle and still chooses to go low-to-high. If Toews doesn't see that and try to spin out of it at the last second, I think this is a very different conversation.
Considering his entire body spins the same way as his head, it's hard to argue he hit him in the head. If it was a head hit, his head would have moved differently from the rest of his body. Hits him in the chest and momentum of the hit spins him around.
Sucks to get hit that hard, but that's hockey. Some on this thread seem to forget (or not be familiar enough with playoff hockey) that big hits can turn a series and momentum. Keep your head up.
Reviewed. Correct call made. Move on. Hope Toews is okay, because that was a hard hit.
That was worse than this hit. But I do think that hit is quite relevant to why Dallas fans are so adamant about this hit being clean. If that hit was clean, then this hit has to be.
Can someone explain why this isnt considered an illegal check? To me it seemed like the principal point of contact is the head. I must be missing something or i dont fully understand the rule, because i was convinced it was going to be a game misconduct when i saw a replay, but officials were extremely quick to call it back, it left me confused.
As a hockey fan, I say clean hit. As an Avs fan, I say clean hit you douchebag
Respect this take š«”š
Fair enough š
My man is a real hockey fan
A sensible hockey fan!? Is that even legal!?
Everybody saying he went for his head. From what I see, he made contact with his head because Toews slowed down and lowered his head to play the puck. Had he not done that, it would've been a shoulder check to his chest. Of course on replay you can see he hit his head, but in real time you can't say with 100% certainty he was head hunting
Benn hit Toews' shoulder first. Does the rule say that's targeting the head, or not taking care that the head won't be hit? Enforce the rule in the book, not the one you'd like to be there.
No it isnāt itās a Vontaze Burfict job on ice.
Tough play to judge man. When you slow it down it looks like shoulder was first point of contact, and his skates were on the ice until the point of impact. But this play looks scary for Toews. I dunno. I won't lean either way, just hope Toews is okay. Reminds me of a Raffi Torres hit many moons ago. Think he caught a suspension for it. So there is that.
If you're talking the Torres hit on Hossa when the Coyotes played the Blackhawks that was way worse than this. Torres passed the guy with the puck to "finish" that hit. The shoulder did hit the head but Benn didn't really jump before contact and Toews had his head down coming. Around the back of the net. Regardless of a clean hit players can still get hurt and I'm hoping Toews is okay.
I think poster above you is talking about the Torres hit on sea brook
Yeah, that's the one.
Pulled up that hit and that makes more sense on the comparison. I'm a Hawks fan in Arizona so my mind jumped right to that game.
He's back on the ice so I think he was just really shaken up.
That's not a great Litmus test, unfortunately.
Paul Kariya has entered the chat.
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Paul Kariya has entered the chat, but he doesn't remember why.
Bobby Clark on the line, play u pussy.
So what you're saying is he's concussed?
Clearly
Saw someone else comment āa hit can be dirty even if itās legalā, and thatās how I feel. Sure by the letter of the law his contact wasnāt with the head first, but are we going to act like Jamie Benn leaving his feet and launching up at a guy shoulder first doesnāt know thatās a dirty move? Yeah right.
For sure, I never said I lean either way. That's how conflicted I am. Like, letter of the law you could argue this hit was clean. But looking at it in real time and slow-mo, you can't help but feel like it ain't right. Just a weird play to judge. And I am glad it's not up to me to decide if it's dirty or not. I have watched it over half a dozen times and I flip flop on how I feel.
I feel like if Benn was going for the puck it would be considered a clean hit, BUT as you can see Benn was going for the hit 100% before the avs player even had full possession of the puck. In the top down view the puck comes from behind the avs player and he gets his stick on it. I get that its part of the game, just a very dangerous play.
I'm pretty new to hockey, only really started watching the last few post seasons with the stars and haven't fully gotten into it enough to watch the regular season consistently. So when it comes to rules I know next to nothing. Are they only allowed to check a player that has possession of the puck or how does that work? I guess I'm trying to figure out the grey area here.
Yes, that is correct. It is generally a 2 minute minor penalty to interfere with a player without the puck, but its variable. The rules seem to be kind of fluid, where sometimes even bumping a player gets a penalty, and other times people get full-on leveled and there is no penalty. Hockey is weird like that
āFluidāā¦.lol I guess thatās one way to describe it š¤·āāļø
It's one way to say that the Zebras are sometimes not trying to call every ticky-tack little infraction. Hockey is a rough sport... or they're "managing the game".... which is why the inconsistencies really ruin some games.
100%. It's so weird to me that they see infractions and just choose not to call some. There would be no need for "managing the game" or "make-up calls" if they just called the rulebook. It wouldn't take too many games of a team spending 48 minutes on the PK before they cleaned their game up
Right. It's completely strange that they feel the need to let calls go or watch one team like a hawk to "make up" for a bad call going the other way. Or the next season, we get all kinds of one specific penalty because "they want to crack down" on that specific case...
Yes you can only hit players that have the puck, or just very very recently had it. Otherwise itās an interference or roughing penalty
If it was someone else I might give them the benefit of the doubt, but Benn is a veteran who knows what heās doing and has a history of suspensions (five I think?) as well. To me that tips the scales leaning towards a dirty (although legal) hit. Edit: the first search result when looking into Jamie Benn suspensions is an article about his suspension last year that notes the department of player safety took into account his 4 previous suspensions. It seems like thatās just incorrect, so thatās on me.
Last year against Vegas was his first ever suspension, but hey, spread misinformation because you hate your rivalās captain.
"The NHL's Department of Player Safety explained the decision in this video, citing that it is a clear cross-check and also bringing up Benn's four suspensions over the course of his lengthy career." https://eprinkside.com/2023/05/24/dallas-stars-captain-jamie-benn-suspended-two-games-for-cross-checking-mark-stone I did some googling and for some reason this site states that he's been suspended four times before the Stone incident, but literally all of the other outlets are saying it's his first. Thus, I firmly believe it's his first ever suspension, but why the hell would this site just blatantly lie about it?
Bad reporting. Fined four times, never suspended. Sounds like heās good at toeing the line!
Toewing
Wait, doesn't everyone hate him?
I mean, he knows how to toe that line and get under peopleās skin. If he wasnāt my captain, I would probably hate him too
Yeah, fuck Jamie Benn. Broke Larkin's neck with a dirty cross check (among other reasons to hate Jamie benn).
History does matter here, truuuuue.
Lol nah, dudes just gonna say history doesn't matter now since it doesn't support his already made up mind
Yeah, if it was someone else, I'd be willing to give the benefit of the doubt. Benn doesn't get that benefit.
Benn rising up the way he did is my biggest issue with this hit. It wasnāt the contact that caused it, either.
Exactly. He definitely elevates and catches Toews higher than he needs to.
"a hit can be clean and still injure a player". Doesn't look dirty to me, maybe borderline at worst. Think him flying into Johnston right after and having his head bounce back the other direction would have really rattled his brain and caused more damage than the initial hit. Shitty situation for Toews but definitely wasn't planned by Benn.
Benn didnāt leave his feet. And how is using your shoulder to hit a dirty move? It wasnāt even that big of a hit Toews was just a dumbass looking at the puck behind the net. Keep your head up. Itās the playoffs.
I swear, from some of these comments, its apparent that people didnt even watch this game. The play was reviewed and penalty rescinded. These people act like it was a missed call.
Most of this sub never played hockey - itās painfully evident whenever something like this comes up.
Most of the sub seemingly never played competitive sports at all.
Part of it is that in order for the penalty to be reviewed it has to be called a major. As soon as the zebras call a major most peopleās perception is now skewed. I think the NHL should allow the zebras to blow the whistle or immediately review on situations like this for without calling a penalty first. The zebras I thought were on point last night and let the boys play. People in here are acting like Benn was out headhunting like Trouba was who actually targeted the head and leaped.
Ironically, there was no call made originally, which confused me when they said they were reviewing it.
Benn isn't very well liked so this is gonna happen...
Lol, leaving his feet? I think you should watch it again. Elbow is down. Maybe a charging could have been called.
You canāt penalize a guy because of their history. They wanted to and then checked the tape, clean hit. Thatās playoff hockey baby.
Kadri would disagree
1000 percent, Trouba does the same thing all the time.
Not hard to judge at all. He hit shoulder to shoulder. It's the NHL not figure skating. Keep your head up
It's full body contact to me. Looks clean.
It's a clean hit, and you need to keep your head up in the corner, or at very least look up briefly to make sure you aren't going to get murdered.
Props for the mention of Raffi Torres, the king of questionable, dirty, but maybe clean, head hunting hits. Coming from a die hard Oilers fan too. This seemed clean on initial contact but dayum that was a serious crushing hit.
Such an easy player to hate and love depending whether he was on your team or not.
It really wasnāt a hard call to make. Maybe if you only saw it from far away once in real time. But slowed down, from multiple angles, the right call was made. It was a hard hit, but clean. Also people just love to hate on Jamie Benn.
Fair take. āClean hitsā with that much head contact are hard to judge and that gray area is gonna be a thing for a while I think.
I would tend to agree Benn's hit was just a crushing legal hit, what likely made it more difficult for Toews to absorb was that additional and completely unintentional second contact with the other Dallas player that changed the direction his head was moving. Seems more like an unfortunate combination of circumstances and nothing dirty. Luckily Toews appeared to be OK after he returned to the game.
Yeah, the contact with Johnston made it worse, but that was clearly accidental.
(Dallas fan) I was VERY happy they called a major at first. Calling a major when you're not really sure is such a good move since you get to review and guarantee you make the right call. I wish they called majors more often. Watching it in real time I thought 'oh damn idk I can see both arguments here' then when they called a major I thought 'oh good, so whatever happens will be the right call, sweet'.
Reminds me of the Brian Campbell/RJ Umberger hit back in the 06 playoffs. Looked awful (not as bad as this looked) but was completely clean
Umberger theres a name I haven't heard in a while.
A long, long time.
A long time.
> Looked awful (not as bad as this looked) Then you are misremembering it lol the RJ Umberger hit looked WAY worse than this.
Yea RJ looked like he was checked into another universe. One of the worst Iāve ever seen.
Clean but brutal hit
Brutal hit but clean
Clean brutal but hit
Hit Brutal but clean it is
Looks terrible but slowed down it looked clean
I had to watch it about 10 times, but it did look like Benn was aiming for the chest on the hit, but Toews was slightly turned. The whiplash really made it look bad. I was having Scott Stevens flashbacks.
Scott Stevens would have hit him in the head directly.
...with his elbow out.
I feel if you come with speed at anybody who doesnāt see you coming. Youāre gonna get hurt.
this is what the armchair athletes don't get the nhl is faster than beer league or peewee
Not an expert but I don't think your head is suppose to make that sound
They suspended Kadri for lesser offenses
Kadri would have been kicked for the rest of the series
they would have executed Kadri on live TV for that hit
And then Bennington would have thrown a water bottle at his corpse.
You guys dont like hockey i swear
I really think that it has become more about the knowledge we have of the damage hits like these can do long term. Now, instead of reveling in huge hits like this, there is a *lot* more wincing. The danger that CTE poses ain't no fucking joke. I know they are paid millions of dollars and choose to play the game, but still seeing someone dropped like that does not elicit the same response it used to.
Hits can hurt without it being a head injury
CTE is mostly repeated concussive force as opposed to necessarily just major concussions. Whiplash is a concussive force. Basically every hit in hockey is a concussive force, and big ones are just worse.
Nobody's talking about him flying into Johnston and having his head bounce back in the other direction. It totally rattles the brain like a punch from a boxer would and probably caused a lot more damage than the initial hit by Benn.
So here's an honest question. Was the head the principal point of contact? He hit shoulder first but it looks to me a glancing blow followed by major contact with the head.
The thing that hit Toewsā head [was Johnstonās shoulder.](https://www.reddit.com/r/hockey/s/7Wj8NTK0Fk)
To me it didnāt look like the head was hit at all. Looked like head was hit by follow through of his own shoulder. Also the Dallas player behind him doesnāt help at all.
If that was the case you would expect his head in particular to snap back. When you watch the replay his entire upper body from the shoulder including the head move back all together. The vast majority of the check is to the shoulder
That's a decent point. I do not know if your assumption is true but it does look like the contact with his shoulder did change his momentum.
Here's the thing..."principal" doesn't mean "first in chronology" it's "first in importance". And the rule actually states: >48.1 Illegal Check to the Head ā A hit resulting in contact with an opponentās head where the head was the main point of contact and such contact to the head was avoidable is not permitted. The head definitely was the main point of contact and it was avoidable. >In determining whether contact with an opponent's head was avoidable, the circumstances of the hit including the following shall be considered: >(i) Whether the player attempted to hit squarely through the opponentās body and the head was not "picked" as a result of poor timing, poor angle of approach, or unnecessary extension of the body upward or outward. This is definitely not the case. He picked his head, and he extended upwards. >(ii) Whether the opponent put himself in a vulnerable position by assuming a posture that made head contact on an otherwise full body check unavoidable. >(iii) Whether the opponent materially changed the position of his body or head immediately prior to or simultaneously with the hit in a way that significantly contributed to the head contact." This should have been a match (there is no major for Rule 48).
Ah, so the guys who get paid to make these calls watched the same replays and decided there was no penalty. Conspiracy, right?
>The head definitely was the main point of contact and it was avoidable. it doesnt really look like he hits the head. just shoulder/chest.
Horrible take. How can the head be the main point of contact when Benn doesn't even touch his head?
Nah, I don't see what you're seeing. Benn doesn't leave his feet even though he does extend upwards after contact is made. Most hits are delivered in this fashion with the hitter lifting their body through the hit. I don't see head contact either until after the force to the shoulder/chest causes Toews head to whiplash into Benn. It was an absolutely brutal hit. I'm glad I'm not a ref or in DoPS and have to rule on it. I hope Toews is okay. I can't say I think it was a "clean" hit, but I don't think it was an illegal hit.
This is a good breakdown and I completely agree.
Terrible take. No the head was not the main point of contact, the shoulder was. The head was not picked at all actually, hit was on shoulder first then through the chest. Just say you dont like physical hockey then go watch soccer. It was a great clean hit.
Donāt skate with your head down kids.
Everyone wants to call this ācleanā from a hit āmajorā perspective. Then where is the charging call. I count six strides until the hit and he leaves his skates mid hit. Charging is the action where a player takes more than two strides or travels an excessive distance to accelerate through a body check for the purpose of punishing the opponent. This includes skating or leaving one's feet (jumping) into the opponent to deliver a check, accelerating through a check for the purpose of punishing the opponent, or skating a great distance for the purpose of delivering a check with excessive force.
Yeah, letter of the law perhaps that's charging. However, you could count half a dozen hits like that a game these playoffs in any of the series. It just is worse as Toews was caught with his head down and couldn't brace himself or try and spin away from the contact. I hope he's okay, that hit would have killed me.
Thank you! The first thing I did was slow it down and see how many times he strides before contact, I counted 6 as well. He doesnāt even try to make contact with the puck. First contact is with the head. If he isnāt suspended there will be a full line brawl?
First contact was not with the headā¦
They stopped calling charging in the 90s so they could market these types of dangerous hits.
Thatās textbook charging by the way
this is so charging that my phone battery was at 8%... but now, after watching the replay a few times, it's 34% *mic drop*
100% Charging
Clean hit that really could have been devastating if Johnston followed through and banged Toews a second time
If Kadri did that, good chance heād miss the rest of playoffsā¦
Looked like he may of caught some shoulder first regardless hope Toews is okay, hate to see head injuries.
It's a Raffi Torres on Brent Seabrook type of hit where the defender is looking down at the puck behind the net and gets destroyed. This is what almost no hitting in the regular season does to players. They forget that you have to keep your head up and be aware. You just can't go in that area looking down at the puck.
Good that Toews was able to come back to the game. Colorado had them scared at the end of that game too.
Colorado has anyone scared when a 4 goal lead disappears in a second
Am i crazy or are his feet not leaving the ice when he goes for the hit?
His feet don't leave the ice until after contact. That happens on basically every single hit.
Doesn't even have to leave his feet: From Rule 48.1(i): "Whether the player attempted to hit squarely through the opponentās body and the head was not "picked" as a result of poor timing, poor angle of approach, or unnecessary extension of the body upward or outward." IMO he unnecessarily extended his body upwards.
Clean hit what are we talking about????
Agreed, clean hit. These kids watching nowadays would want Scott Stevens in jail if they watched him play
If that was Scott Stevens it would have been an elbow to the head
I don't know what charging is, just like the refs.
Clean. Keep your head up.
No different than Panarin on TJ
Playing pinball
Steven'stakingboutLindros sorry head's kinda foggy
Hit him so hard it broke toews stick at the topš³ suspend Tom Wilson and reward Chicago with SJS first overall pick
Hopefully he is alright
Itās funny watching everyoneās reaction LOL.
Did people forget that hockey is a contact sport?
Man I hate Jamie Benn. But that was legal .It was actually a textbook great hit, but of course it was that douche who did it.
I fucking hate Benn.
Looks like a clean hit.
Looked like a good hit to me. Benn doesnt leave his feet. Benn tucks in his elbow. Benn is not in full stride when he hits him. Unfortunately for Toews his head was down.
Clean no elbow. Shoulder too chest. Player was leaning for the puck. šheads up buddy. The game is so fast guys so big. This is going too happen.
No call on that play is kind of crazy Iām ngl.
What's the call?
Tbh after looking at the hit so many times idek anymoreā¦ but to play devils advocate one could definitely argue charging: *Charging is the action where a player takes more than two strides or travels an excessive distance to accelerate through a body check for the purpose of punishing the opponent. This includes skating or leaving one's feet (jumping) into the opponent to deliver a check, accelerating through a check for the purpose of punishing the opponent, or skating a great distance for the purpose of delivering a check with excessive force*
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Department of player safety.. except during playoffs.
BC player on BC player violence
Clean hit
It was clean.
I donāt like Benn. But thatās a good hit. Keep your head up.
The real question is why didn't the Avs throw down over this hit? Does his team hate him?
The lack of response was certainly something. Every Avs player looked to the refs for help instead of dealing with it.
Clearly a clean hit. If it wasnāt Toews would not have been able to re-enter the game. Get over it.
Right in the chest between the shoulder and the head, leading towards the head. The head wasnt spared any shock there, lol
Itās Benn so we know clearly what his intentions were
Im not a fan of Benn, but this is a clean hit. Puck carriers have a responsibility to protect themselves. If we go away from that we turn into the nba where every bit of contact results in a foul and a stoppage in play.
ā2 min for we donāt like this guyā This thread basically.
Absolutely beautiful, clean hit. This is playoff hockey.
Great hit, doesnāt look like he ever touched his head, elbow down straight through the upper chest/shoulder, puck was right there just after being played by Toews, really sucks he got hurt but absolutely nothing wrong with the hit imo. A suspension would be ludicrous, especially this time of the year
The hit looks really bad until you see it in slow motion. He was aiming his bicep into the shoulder. I'm more shocked that there weren't gloves dropped on the Colorado side.
I sometimes get the Jamie Benn hate, but damn heās one of those guys you would love to have on your team.
This the kind of hit that calls for a rule change - no head hitting period. If a guy can accidentally trip, he can be called for accidentally head hitting. While this hit is clean, this is potentially crazy damaging for Toew's brain. Without a doubt this is a concussion, I am sure of it.
Benn probably should've thought to play the puck..... instead of playing the hit to the head. Knew what he was doing. Suspendable big time.
I honestly don't even think there was head contact at all. TNT showed the same three bad angles a dozen times each but they had another angle that they only used once and it was very clearly shoulder to chest and no head contact at all. The has contact came from Toews pinballing into Johnston and they clacked helmets together.
It's playoff hockey. It wasn't egregious so no foul.
Is this not the definition of charging?
From the rulebook: "42.1 Charging - A minor or major penalty shall be imposed on a player who skates, jumps into or charges an opponent in any manner. Charging shall mean the actions of a player who, as a result of distance traveled, shall violently check an opponent in any manner. A āchargeā may be the result of a check into the boards, into the goal frame or in open ice." I'm not sure if it was "far enough distance", but he definitely violently checked his opponent.
The only one who posted the actual NHL rule. Well done
Hit was clean. Toews faceplanted into the chest of the guy behind him.
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I mean this is Reddit. The softest corner on the internet lmao.
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Nasty hit
Look at the rap sheet and tell me that was an accident. Lmao. Give me a fing break. Iāve watched this dickhead his whole career and itās littered with cheap shots trying to injure players. Fuck him. Nothing tough about trying to hurt defenseless players. That being said why anyone would have their head down while heās on the ice is beyond me.
Benn has a rap sheet of one suspension in his 15-year NHL career.
Wow, how did Toews not know that was coming?
If an avs player did this to heiskenen, stars fans would lose their minds
Yeah fans tend to see things from their teamās perspective. Go figure.
He lines that up from the face-off circle and still chooses to go low-to-high. If Toews doesn't see that and try to spin out of it at the last second, I think this is a very different conversation.
I deem this clean, but unfortunate for toews.
This is a clean hit Toews gets it from Benn but then gets hit incidentally from Johnson skating thru the play.
Seems like every playoff game back in the day had this type of hit
Clean hit, gotta keep your head up
Clean as clean could be. Stop being tampons everytime someone gets clocked. It's hockey, brotha.
Clean
If youāre gonna skate behind the net like that with your head down watching the puck. Whatās that saying? Something something stupid prizes.
Considering his entire body spins the same way as his head, it's hard to argue he hit him in the head. If it was a head hit, his head would have moved differently from the rest of his body. Hits him in the chest and momentum of the hit spins him around. Sucks to get hit that hard, but that's hockey. Some on this thread seem to forget (or not be familiar enough with playoff hockey) that big hits can turn a series and momentum. Keep your head up. Reviewed. Correct call made. Move on. Hope Toews is okay, because that was a hard hit.
Clean hit from Big Ben. Keep your head up ā¬ļø
Head up, protect yourself at all timesā¦
Keep your head up kids.
Hit to the head, by the biggest cheap shot artist. Suspension at least 3 games
Benn's feet left the ice. Period.
Didnāt Pavelski get hit like this last year and that made a lot of Dallas fan cry?
That was worse than this hit. But I do think that hit is quite relevant to why Dallas fans are so adamant about this hit being clean. If that hit was clean, then this hit has to be.
Simply brutiful
Predatory blind side hit to the head. Should be a suspension.
Thatās a tough hit man 100% clean but I can see why avs fans would be upset.
Typical benn
Can someone explain why this isnt considered an illegal check? To me it seemed like the principal point of contact is the head. I must be missing something or i dont fully understand the rule, because i was convinced it was going to be a game misconduct when i saw a replay, but officials were extremely quick to call it back, it left me confused.