David Booth Update and NHL’s Ruling on Mike Richards Hit: Time for the Cats to Show Some Teeth!?
David Booth has left the Philadelphia hospital where he had to spend the night after the hard hit to the head that he suffered in the game versus the Flyers. Booth suffered a concussion but is reported as upbeat, coherent and ‘only’ suffering a stiff neck apart from the concussion.
It could have easily been much worse.
I’ve studied the hit over and over and, to me, the hit by Mike Richards on David Booth yesterday still looks dirty.
The most incriminating part is how Richards clearly sizes Booth up before delivering the hit. He looks very aware of what he is doing and visibly has his eyes transfixed on David’s head.
I am inclined at agreeing with Keith Ballard and his statement about the incident: "Richards knows (Booth) is in vulnerable position and goes after him. He’s done it before.”
However, the NHL apparently disagrees with me and Ballard. They deem it a good clean hit and thus Richard’s will face no suspension.
Right or wrong as they may be, I suppose it’s best to leave it at that.
The Panthers need to suck it up and show some character by overcoming this set-back… And the one caused by Radek Dvorak’s lower body injury in the same game.
The hard fact is that the Cats were too tame in Philadelphia. They let the Flyers walk all over them. First the hit to the face of Moore, then the injury to Dvorak, Booth’s frightening hit and Kulikov’s mauling in the corner.
You just can’t let these things slide. Someone must make a stand and bring out the ol’ fisticuffs.
That no one did; despite all these accumulating hits, some legal some not, is really quite shameful.
Where is the camaraderie, the ‘one for all and all for one’ mentality?
Are they just haplessly going to stand by as comrade’s fall like flies as the Flyers run ruin and havoc upon the Panthers’ roster?
Come on… Show some teeth Panthers!!
If no one on the current team will do so, then Sexton it’s up to you: Go trade for an enforcer, maybe add a tough no-nonsense checker, do something!
We can’t have these Panthers’ players standing around like shy kittens and take whatever is dished out. Do that and the Florida team will continue to be ravished by injuries: that’s simply not acceptable.
