Litter Box Cats, a Florida Panthers community

Do players really want these hits in the game? How does it make for a better sport? [Montreal's Jaroslav] Spacek, while his hit was technically clean, had options, and the one he chose left [Florida's David] Booth unconscious and bleeding on the ice with a broken nose.

"Had Booth and Richards just skated through the game without incident, Booth might be suspected of being intimidated. He might have even wondered about it himself. No professional hockey athlete can easily survive that label, and certainly not in hockey, where one can’t shrink from physical play and be effective."