The Carolina Hurricanes are no strangers to the heated competition of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, nor are they unfamiliar with the vice grip-like pressure of their opponents’ passionate fan bases. However, Saturday was a step into uncharted territory with an in-depth statement from an unexpected source.
On May 2, immediately after Game 1, a new episode of NBC Sports Philadelphia’s podcast, flyers talkBroadcast. In it, Flyers television play-by-play announcer Jim Jackson, Flyers reporter and host Ashlyn Sullivan, and reporter Jordan Hall reflect on the opening second-round series with the Hurricanes, and discuss what will be needed in the upcoming games.
However, to Jackson, a taboo topic was brought up that sounded like a call to injure Hurricanes goaltender Frederick Anderson.
Jackson said, “You have to get into Freddy Andersen’s grill; he’s not a goaltender who likes that stuff – he also gets injured by contact.” “I’m not saying ‘Go ahead, try to hurt him’, but if there is physical contact, there’s a possibility he could get hurt.”
However, despite an apparent effort to clear it up, he appeared to repeat the previous statement moments later.
“He’s one of those goaltenders that you want to take out of his game any way you can, and if he gets hurt, that’s OK – because he has a history of injuries, and he has a history of struggling a little bit in the playoffs when he gets off track a little bit.
“So, I think the Flyers are going to have to put in a little more effort to get him to that point.”
Physicality has always been a part of hockey, and especially so in the postseason, but it would seem that the suggestion of getting hurt by people with such a respected position is a bit unprecedented.
One Hurricanes fan analyzed, “It seems they don’t believe their team is good enough to beat the Canes and the only way they have is to intentionally make contact with Freddy and injure him.” “When someone makes a statement like that and then tries to soften it with a “but” you know what he’s expecting.”
“It’s crazy that he, a “professional”, thought that; but especially, he said it out loud,” said another.
“There is a former Flyer who will punish this behavior,” another fan said, referencing enforcer and grinder Nicolas Deslauriers, whom the Hurricanes acquired at the trade deadline.
Seriously, it’s a shame anyone would shed light on injury-related strategies, it’s something that has become all too common outside of the media and in the dark corners of sports fans, and as such, it’s no surprise that such ideas have made their way into the mainstream.
Perhaps this is less the result of passionate fans amid bitter postseason rivalries, and more a symptom of the times – a streak of darkness that society has allowed into its hearts and minds due to the toxic nature that has become common in the digital age.
Hopefully, there will be no wrongdoing in this dilemma – for either party.
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