Observations On A Single Game

On February 27^th I posted the article Additional Statistics on the Impact of Fighting.  It contained stats that showed when fighting was reduced, non-fighting PIMs were also reduced.  It also showed that teams who fought the most were also assessed more non-fighting PIMs.  A clear trend based on the past 12 seasons of NHL play.  And then a game comes along that adds considerable weight to my argument that enforcers contribute to the violence and cheap shots, not control it.

Revenge and Retribution

On March 15^th I watched the return of Crosby when the Penguins took on the Rangers.  It was an entertaining game and Sid played well after a long recovery.  But a hit at approximately 9 minutes into the 3^rd period confused me.  It was a cheap shot actually, when Engelland led with his forearm and hit Fedotenko in the head.   An obvious cheap shot with no penalty called.

What Are We Fighting For Again?

Lots of media coverage this week in response to Ralph Nader’s open letter to Gary Bettman (available here).   The comment section attached to any of the online articles on this story was full of fans defending fighting because “it makes players accountable”.  So let’s take 11 recent hockey fights at random and look at them in detail to see if we can understand the crucial role of the enforcer.