Hip checks have fallen out of favor in the modern NHL, but Alexei Emelin is doing his part to bring them back. In a lopsided game between the Colorado Avalanche and the Montreal Canadiens, Emelin continued to play hard despite the 10-1 score, flipping Joe Colborne with a well-timed hip check.
The Avalanche weren’t too happy.
While there wasn’t anything illegal about the hip check, that didn’t stop the Avalanche from protesting due to the fact the hit came in a game which was decided.
Jarome Iginla specifically took exception, via Sportsnet:
“At that point of the game when they’re beating us like that, it’s not really a matter of whether it’s clean or not. Just don’t think (it’s right). If I’m going up-over like that with two minutes left and down 10-1 I’d hope guys are coming in (for me). That’s the way I’ve played and I think that’s the way it should be played. They can do the hit if they want. It’s part of the game. But we’re allowed to do what we do too. That’s what penalty minutes and stuff are for.”
The hit was clean, but Iginla has a point that maybe it did cross the line of some of the unwritten rules of the sport. Throwing that kind of hit – which can be a dangerous one – with the score as divided as it was will always ruffle some feathers.
