Donlad Brashear’s kind of a jerk
Wanted to get to this in the nightly wrap, but I figured it warranted its own post.
Down 7-4 inside 20 seconds to go, Thrashers rookie defenseman Zach Bogosian finished a check against Washington’s Dave Steckel. No big deal. Then for some reason, Donald Brashear just goes after the kid. Welcome to the NHL, Zach. I guess.
Watch it here. For some reason I’m struggling to embed it.
I’m a big proponent of fighting, but this wasn’t fair and it wasn’t part of the game. It was a legit NHL heavyweight pounding trying to beat the christ out of a rookie who was just doing what he’s supposed to do.
Low-rent move by Brashear, and, according to the NHL rulebook, maybe not cool with them.
47.12 Instigator in Final Five Minutes of Regulation Time (or Anytime in Overtime) - A player or goalkeeper who is deemed to be the instigator of an altercation in the final five (5) minutes of regulation time or at any time in overtime shall be assessed an instigator minor penalty, a major penalty for fighting, and a game misconduct penalty (see 47.22).
And an “instigator” is a person that does this: “An instigator of an altercation shall be a player or goalkeeper who by his actions or demeanor demonstrates any/some of the following criteria: distance traveled; gloves off first; first punch thrown…”
Sounds about right, but Brashear only got the five-minute major and a roughing call. I guess the difference between me and an NHL ref is my inability to see why the latter doesn’t make him the instigatr.
Again, fight all you want. Have 15 fights a game. I’d love it. But this wasn’t right.
