Whineberg Forever, We Will Cherish Thee

I love John Tortarella. Classic Torts meltdown after last night's game.

Saw this over on Pensblog this am. CLASSIC MUST WATCH STUFF courtesy of Benstonium, featuring Torts and Craig Berube...



If ya didn't see the full Torts whinefest, here ya go...



Seems to be the en vogue thing in the NHL.  Whiners whining about others whining.

Let's be clear on some stuff:

Lap it up Pittsburgh...this is classic Gamesmanship from the master. He's hoping to buy some calls and get his team all jazzed up. Good for Torts, and imo, he's a good character for the game.

Brooks Orpik is not a dirty player. He never Kronwalls people. He's a big hitter, and in most circumstances, has earned the benefit of the doubt with good, hard, clean hits.

BUT, objectively speaking...Brooks was irresponsible here. It's not in his DNA to back off of hits, but he should've tried better in this circumstance. Not the dirtiest hit you'll ever see. But still pretty irresponsible. We called it on Ovechkin a few years back when he injured Gonchar in the playoffs, so call it the same here. I hope Shanahan uses the same decision process that Caveman Colin used on that hit from Ovie, because if you recall...he got away with no suspension. Let's also consider Ovie is a repeat offender, and Orpik is not (although at the time of that Ovie on Gonch hit, I can't recall if he'd been suspended at that point).

I'm curious to hear Jeremy Roenick's opinion on this (felt wierd typing that). If he toes the same line he did with the Nystrom hit on Letang, JR should probably point out that Stepan tried to avoid the hit by veering left (not that I blame him), leaving him in a vulnerable position.

Stepan appears to be OK. And that's a good thing. Not just for Orpik's fate, but you don't wanna see him injured on the play.

Maybe Shanny and Orpik have a staredown, and Shanny gives him the "shape up or else" treatment. Torts is clearly trying to buy a suspension. Giving him a game into the playoffs would seem harsh, considering Orpik's record. But nothing with the NHL surprises us.

With a game against Philly tomorrow, we shouldn't have to wait long to hear from Sheriff Shanny...if we do. One way or another, you can bet your sweet papoopoos there will be more whining.