Takes and trash talk from both ALL sides of the NHL's most obscure PATHETIC* rivalry

* Thanks, Kevin Lowe!

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Predators right wing Scott Hartnell takes out Jonathan Cheechoo with knee-on-knee hit



Nine minutes into the second period of the Sharks 5-4 double OT win over the Nashville Predators, right wing Scott Hartnell took out San Jose's leading scorer with a knee-on-knee hit, and an elbow to the head, on the same play.

Intentional? Of course not, just a hard working effort to skate through an opposing player, even after he no longer had the puck. Just like hitting a tennis ball. Intent to injure? Bleep no. His knee and face just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The fact that no one in the NHL has been able to stop the Thornton-Cheechoo tandem the last month also has nothing to do with it.

The injury did shine a spotlight on a major question mark for the Sharks. San Jose has the depth to bring in quality players, with center Joe Pavelski and agitator Mark Smith in reserve, but the hit on Cheechoo seemed to shake off a lot of the confidence the Sharks spent the last month and a half building. They need Rivet and Guerin, and Brown/Grier to step in and provide leadership when they feel the momentum start to swing. That momentum carried San Jose out of the playoffs in 4 games against Edmonton last year.

More on the Cheechoo hit here.

7 comments:

Earl Sleek said...

Yeah, I saw that hit at the bar last night before we headed over to Honda Center for our own little G1. That kind of injury sucks, especially in G1.

The fact that no one in the NHL has been able to stop the Thornton-Cheechoo tandem the last month also has nothing to do with it.

Say, PJ, weren't we at a game in the last month that featured zero scoring from Thornton/Cheechoo? :)

But yeah, the guy's back on fire, which would be bad news for SJ-opposition, if they didn't have other knee-elbow ways of dealing with that.

mike said...

Trotz has alot of gaul to say it was a clean hit, especially after supposedly reviewing replays. Worst knee of the year, imo.

Bethany said...

I am a Hartnell fan and was absolutely discusted with the hit. I hope that Cheech gets back soon and that the Sharks do well...and one more thing I love the fact that the Sharks won this game...it just goes to show that kharma is a B&^*h

Bleu, Blanc et Rouge said...

Man that sucks guys, really.

PJ Swenson said...

When I said "no one", I meant to say "no one of consequence". Just kidding.

I mean really. How is Sleek going to feel if the Ducks have to face a Cheechoo-less Sharks team in the later rounds? It would be like going to a game in Anaheim and not making fun of the Purple jerseys.

Its time to get mad, or at least hammered. I hope there is a game on in Palo Alto.

RudyKelly said...

The hearts of all of Moose Factory broke with that hit. No moose will be eaten this day. (But no, really, did you know that Cheechoo eats moose?)

I think all of California needs to unite and proclaim with one voice, "Fuck Nashville."

LoneSharks said...

I had to deal with the Nashville feed last night. Let me jsut reiterate that despite my previous comments about Brian Hayward, "Crispy" and Webber are THE WORST IN THE HISTORY OF SPORTS. Until OT they refused to show the side angle of the hit, instead only showing the wide view that made it hard to tell what happened. From the side view you can clearly see Hartnell's knee thrust into Cheechoo's. "Crispy" refused to say it was anything other than a clean hit, but it was an embarassment. (On a sidenote, how does anyone who says "Bubba," seriously and frequently, get a job in television?) The Sharks better be ready to push back because this won't stop. Trotz condones goonery (Jordin Tootoo, 'nuff said) and has definitely watched the Edmonton tapes. Clowe and Bell need to be major factors physically tomorrow night. Early reports said there was no damage to the knee so let's hope Cheech only misses a few games and can possibly return late in the series in the unlikely event we get that far.