Adam Larsson

[ericdaoust]

Watching the Habs/Devils game and Larsson took a head shot from Cole. The period was almost done and Larsson stayed on the bench till the intermission but he laid on his back for a while before even attempting to get up. Not sure if he finishes the game or not but don't be surprised if the term "concussion-like symptoms" gets thrown around in the next couple days. Just FYI.

[tgraveline]

Well, that makes me feel less bad about dropping him before his 2 point night now. Hope he doesn't have a concussion for his sake. We're getting too many this year.

[fungchen3]

Larsson is playing in the 2nd period and "appears" to be ok...but you never know the true outcome for a while. As a side note, Cole should be suspended and it's absolutely criminal that he only got a 2 min penalty for the hit. I'm a Habs fan and all, but that was a clear "head shot" if I ever saw one...and it was the exact type of hit / exploitation of a vulnerable player that the league has been trying to remove.

[fungchen3]

Holy tape-to-tape homerun pass from Larsson to Clarkson for a beautiful goal.

[littleranger]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX1COQEUO1g

I'm hearing Cole isn't going to get suspended or fined. Why not?

[bondon]

Before I start I should probably mention I'm not a Habs fan, don't own Cole in any leagues, no possible bias here.

Maybe I'm way off base here but I don't get how that hit can be considered a 'head shot'. Cole is a physical player, he's throws the body around a lot. That's what makes him such an effective player.

When you take a hit like that and slow-mo it of course its gonna look like a head shot because it gives you the frame of mind that there were seconds passing between the point when Cole decided to throw the hit and when he actually hits Larsson in the head. Its actually milliseconds, and Larsson is caught with his head down.

Cole keeps his body low, and his shoulder tucked in. Maybe I'm seeing it wrong but to me it just looks like an unfortunate incident, and that the sensitivity surrounding head issues is making people blow this way out of proportion. I think if you have a problem with this hit, that its an indication that there needs to be a culture shift in the NHL that goes beyond single incidents like these.

Plus, if the NHL didn't suspend these kinds of a hits last year in the playoffs then there's no way they're suspending Cole for that hit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZTAqvq_LE4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeZDE9H3_vU

Edit: Just thought I'd add, by no means do I consider myself an 'expert' on matters like this. Personally I have no frigging clue what to expect regarding any type of supplementary discipline. I am extremely interested to see how the NHL lets Lucic walk off scott-free tomorrow.

[fungchen3]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX1COQEUO1g

I'm hearing Cole isn't going to get suspended or fined. Why not?

I don't know why. If Cole isn't suspended, it will be a puzzling message sent by Shanahan. If you watch the hit from multiple angles, the one angle clearly shows the following:

1. Larsson was being tightly defended by Pacioretty, couldn't see Cole and was in an extremely vulnerable position.

2. Cole "leaned in" with his arm/shoulder (albeit elbow tucked) and make contact directly with Larsson's head...which was exposed because he was stretched out reaching/playing the puck.

I'm not saying that Cole is a "dirty" player or intentionally wanted to deliver a head shot to the kid, but he saw him in a vulnerable position and still went for the "kill" and made clear contact to the head. If Shanahan and the NHL are continuing their crackdown on hits to the head, this one is a soft ball lobbed right over the plate.

[Loch]

Plus, if the NHL didn't suspend these kinds of a hits last year in the playoffs then there's no way they're suspending Cole for that hit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZTAqvq_LE4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeZDE9H3_vU

The way I look at it (and this is just me) but if the player didn't have a head would there still have been a hit?

Bickell caught Bieksa's arm/shoulder first and Torres would have hit Seabrook right in the chest if his head wasn't there.

Cole would have missed Larsson entirely but for his head... not even close to shoulder/chest, etc.
I don't see how Larsson did anything to make that happen so it is Cole's responsibility to get body... he didn't so he should be prepared for consequences.

[fungchen3]

The way I look at it (and this is just me) but if the player didn't have a head would there still have been a hit?

Bickell caught Bieksa's arm/shoulder first and Torres would have hit Seabrook right in the chest if his head wasn't there.

Cole would have missed Larsson entirely but for his head... not even close to shoulder/chest, etc.
I don't see how Larsson did anything to make that happen so it is Cole's responsibility to get body... he didn't so he should be prepared for consequences.

You're right.

Here's a still of the contact. What's more important is if you watched how the play developed, Pax was smothering Larsson and due to his positioning there was no way possible for Larsson to see Cole or defend himself. Cole clearly exploited that and leaned into the head. This is an easy call for me, especially since the NHL (and players) keep harping on how they need to "respect" each other more.

[slufoot]

Just playing devil's advocate here, but I think if there's no suspension - it will be because A) Larsson was off-balance immediately before the hit which caused his head to become the primary point of contact (similarly to why there has no suspension on the Campoli hit in pre-season) and B) Cole has no prior history

I initially thought it should be a suspension while watching the game last night, but if they give the reasoning above for no suspension, I'm fine with that. As a defenceman - you have to know there is a threshold of time you can control the puck behind your net without taking a hit. Larsson exceeded that threshold by a few seconds, so warning bells should have been going off for him.

[ericdaoust]

Just playing devil's advocate here, but I think if there's no suspension - it will be because A) Larsson was off-balance immediately before the hit which caused his head to become the primary point of contact (similarly to why there has no suspension on the Campoli hit in pre-season) and B) Cole has no prior history

I initially thought it should be a suspension while watching the game last night, but if they give the reasoning above for no suspension, I'm fine with that. As a defenceman - you have to know there is a threshold of time you can control the puck behind your net without taking a hit. Larsson exceeded that threshold by a few seconds, so warning bells should have been going off for him.

In a bubble I would be fine with a suspension here but not when comparing results from other similar plays such as the Malone hit that you mentioned. Just like we all want consistency from officials between games, we also want consistency with this supplemental discipline stuff.

[GrinningBuddha]

Larsson is not showing any ill effects from the hit, but his grandmother has passed away and it looks as though he will be missing the games on the 23rd and 26th as he returns home to Sweden.

[bondon]

That really sucks. This is the absolute worst time of the year to lose a loved one.

[Shoeless]

That really sucks. This is the absolute worst time of the year to lose a loved one.

Not to make light of your sentiment at all, b0ndon - but I found it ironic who you were responding to.