Anaheim Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf picked up an assist and
was a plus-2 in his first game back from the nasal sinus fractures (yowch) he suffered back on
Dec. 28, 2010.
But Vancouver Canucks fans will remember his return to the
lineup on Wednesday night for one reason: His third-period hit on Dan Hamhuis that knocked the
defenseman out of the 4-3 loss to the Ducks.
Here’s the play in question; what’s your take on this
Getzlaf hit?
Hamhuis had just passed the puck and turned his back as Getzlaf came around
the net from behind and delivered a check to the back of his left shoulder.But Hamhuis’ head hit the glass hard and he fell immediately to the ice,
flat on his back for several minutes before finally sitting up.Hamhuis eventually skated to the bench with a teammate holding either arm,
and went straight to the locker room. There was no penalty to Getzlaf, who was
playing his first game since missing six weeks with facial fractures.
Hamhuis had clearly released the puck. Getzlaf doesn’t leave
his skates before the hit. It appears he’s attempting to deliver a
shoulder-to-shoulder check, but the angle of Hamhuis’s body sent his head
bouncing off the glass on contact. The question: Was that angle a result of Hamhuis turning his
body away from the hit?
Many Canucks fans and other observers tagged it as a dirty hit;
we’re not so sure.
Dan Murphy of
Sportsnet reported after the game that Canucks Coach Alain Vigneault indicatd
Hamhuis "looked fine after the game except for a big red welt" on his face.
Said the coach: "It’s a big man hitting our D-man, it’s a part of the game."
With Alex Edler and Keith Ballard out of the lineup, and
with Sami Salo still yet to get back into it, this was an excruciatingly tense
moment for Vancouver fans. The preliminary assessment from Vigneault sounds
promising … and what’s this? Salo back on
Saturday? Strange to hear good injury news from the Vancouver blueline.
Stick-tap to Crash the Crease.
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