Olympic Hockey Break Blog Post

Last night, the Blackhawks beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-4 in a shootout and I was at a wedding so I did not get to see the game but did catch the score on my phone during the reception. Just by looking at the score I had no idea that Patrick Kane took a hit to the knee and that Troy Brouwer came to the defense of Kane and beat down Anton Stralman. So during my drive back to Iowa City today I had ESPN1000 on and they were talking about the fight and whether or not it was a good move by Brouwer, and I have to say I absolutely agree that it was the right move.

Protecting your star players is unwritten rule #1 in the NHL. Let's go back to the previous night when Marian Hossa took a shot to the head and Kris Versteeg came to his defense. It's something that happens every time a star player is hit, and it's done to send the message that opponents won't get away with relentlessly hitting the stars of a team. When Crosby or Ovechkin take a shot, their teammates are right there to deliver some sort of payback.

The other thing I want to mention about this is the Blue Jackets play-by-play crew had a problem with Brouwer going after Stralman in this game. Here's the quick video:



They of all people should know that this type of thing happens in a hockey game. It's the one sport that allows fighting to settle differences or spats. It's what a lot of fans like about hockey and their opposition to Brouwer protecting a teammate is just wrong because you know they'd be calling for a Blue Jacket to do the same if someone took out Rick Nash like Stralman did to Kane last night.

With the Olympic break now upon us, I for one am torn about these Olympics. I love the idea of players playing for their country but I,like any fan, have my allegiances to my team and am not the biggest fan of players from the Blackhawks playing games not for the Blackhawks. Hockey is in a similar situation to what baseball is in for the summer games and for as difficult as it is to say, the NHL players shouldn't play in the Olympics every four years. You can call me anti-American all you want, but these players are (or at least should be) loyal to their NHL employer first, not their country. You don't need guys like Hossa and Kane who are battling injuries, to risk injuring themselves even more by playing in the Olympics. This is likely the last year for NHL players to play in the Olympics and I for one am glad to see it.