This is not a very reasonable analysis. Yes, he angled him off perfectly, forcing Didier to cut back… However, the part you're MASSIVELY leaving out is the speed they are moving. You can tell that Hodgson wanted to get to his left shoulder and cut him off. He tries to which is why he kinda of hyper-extends his own right knee in doing so. But, He did leave up as much as humanly possible. So, I don't think there should've been any call. He didn't throw any hit let alone a dangerous one. The D turned his back at the last second and left Hodgson with little options other than to try to not hit him….. which is why he didn't really hit him. He ran into him while trying to get away.
Also, as a D man, you should be willing to take a hit in that situation. You fire the puck around to the boards or pass to an open D partner, then get up against the boards and take your licks. This pussification of the NHL has led to guys making poor hockey plays, rather than take a hit. Even if you want to attempt to rationalize your argument (and you're wrong), the fact is, he did put himself in a dangerous position. I've had coaches from in-house to pro, and they all say the same thing… never turn your back when you're that close to contact. Never. Fact, it was Didier's fault.
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Didier put himself in a dangerous position.
I fully agree with your analysis. Spot on.
This is not a very reasonable analysis. Yes, he angled him off perfectly, forcing Didier to cut back… However, the part you're MASSIVELY leaving out is the speed they are moving. You can tell that Hodgson wanted to get to his left shoulder and cut him off. He tries to which is why he kinda of hyper-extends his own right knee in doing so. But, He did leave up as much as humanly possible. So, I don't think there should've been any call. He didn't throw any hit let alone a dangerous one. The D turned his back at the last second and left Hodgson with little options other than to try to not hit him….. which is why he didn't really hit him. He ran into him while trying to get away.
Also, as a D man, you should be willing to take a hit in that situation. You fire the puck around to the boards or pass to an open D partner, then get up against the boards and take your licks. This pussification of the NHL has led to guys making poor hockey plays, rather than take a hit. Even if you want to attempt to rationalize your argument (and you're wrong), the fact is, he did put himself in a dangerous position. I've had coaches from in-house to pro, and they all say the same thing… never turn your back when you're that close to contact. Never. Fact, it was Didier's fault.