Nathan Webb
Much like the fights, everyone loves big hockey hits. The speed, the crunch of the equipment, the rattling of the boards. Granted, while some of the hits like this are the reason for some modern NHL rules, it’s always fun to look back.
As Detroit Red Wings fans, we’ve been spoiled with big hockey hits by the likes of Niklas Kronwall. But rewind 10 or so years, and hockey hits like that were commonplace. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and look at some of the biggest bone-crunching hits from the hockey world.
But as the game has gotten faster and players stronger, big hits become more dangerous. These are some of the reasons behind hits against the boards and hits to the head. We can only hope that a happy medium is reached in the future. Where players are able to lay the hits that give life to the crowd, while also following reasonable rules meant to protect player safety.
BONUS CONTENT
THROWBACK: Red Wings put 7 through Patrick Roy in game 7 rout [VIDEO]
It’s a moment almost all Detroit Red Wings fans remember, a moment as iconic as the Brawl in Hockeytown. The night Detroit embarrassed the Colorado Avalanche en route to the Stanley Cup Final. An already heated series by the most intense rivalry in professional sports made even more so by the skill level of both teams.
After a scare for the Red Wings after game 5, going down 3 games to 2, Detroit managed to rally and force a game 7 with the Avalanche. Everyone expected a reasonably close game, as the rest of the series had been. Boy would they be shocked, much to the delight of Detroit fans everywhere.
The Red Wings opened the scoring at 1:56 into the first period, just 6 seconds after a faceoff in the Colorado end, and they didn’t look back from there. Before the game’s conclusion, the Red Wings would score 6 more times to shut out the Avalanche 7 – 0 heading into the Stanley Cup Finals. The sweetest part of the victory was the fact that Patrick Roy was the goaltender in net for Colorado, a target of much ire of the Red Wings fanbase.
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