‘IT WAS A CRAZY CHAIN OF EVENTS, FOR SURE’
Colby Armstrong talks playoffs, Play On, and that hit to Crosby
These days, Colby Armstrong is talking playoffs.
He’s also praising Play On. The former NHLer — now a broadcaster for Penguins Radio Network and hockey analyst for SportsNet — is an ambassador for Hockey Night in Canada’s nationwide Play On street hockey tournaments.
The event returns to Saskatoon May 20-21.
Armstrong, a father of four who spent much of Tuesday on his child’s field trip to the children’s museum, grew up in Saskatoon, where he played his minor hockey.
His good friend Sidney Crosby suffered yet another concussion Monday during the Stanley Cup playoff series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals. Here’s what Armstrong had to say about the hit on Crosby, Matt Niskanen, Alex Ovechkin and more:
Q So Crosby’s out with a concussion. What did you think of the play? In your opinion, was it Niskanen’s fault or Ovy’s fault or was it just one of those things, an unfortunate chain of events?
A It was a crazy chain of events, for sure, but I don’t know. Niskanen and Crosby have had their run-ins already in two games and previously they fought and Niskanen’s a pretty chippy player. He plays with an edge, for sure. He’s not, like, a tough guy. He’s pretty good with the stick.
I just look at the play in general and what I know happens just on that play at the net. He’s coming to wipe him out, totally. That it was a reactionary play? I don’t buy it. He’s coming through to take him out in the paint, in a hard area. Is it his job? Yeah, probably.
But he was coming to take him out regardless. He cross-checked him in the face, regardless. The intent was to hit him and clear him out of there.
Is that game and five enough? I guess the league saw it that it was. We’ll see how long it takes Sidney to come back. The more I watch it, the more I don’t like it, the whole chain of events.
Q What’s your opinion of Ovy and his role in all of this?
A I don’t know. Everything’s a hook now, so we see a lot of tapping and slashing. Ovy came through pretty hard. He put out his foot on the play, as well. He’s known for some slew-footing, as well. Initially, when I first saw it happen, I thought Ovy buckled him right away. Then you see it again and you see Niskanen come in back door with the big hit.
Q How tough is it to see Crosby suffer yet another concussion? How many more can the guy endure?
A It’s one of those things that we don’t know much about it, whether he’ll feel good today or tomorrow. Who knows and who knows the magic number of how many you’re allowed to get? It’s kind of an unknown thing. You look at his future as a person and what the toll might be from this, we don’t know. I just hope it heals up quick.
I look at what he did this year and with his play right now through the playoffs, if they’re able to make another (Stanley Cup) run, probably a Conn Smythe was looking to come his way the way he has been playing. That’s a pretty darn good player sitting out on a play like that.
Q Of course, you also played with the Maple Leafs. How good was it to see them give the Caps a run and how close are the Leafs to being a Cup contender?
A They’re good. They’re fun to watch. They’ve got some kids who can score and, for all the knocks their D gets, they defended pretty well against a strong Capitals team, and they’ve got pretty good goaltending. I thought the Leafs could have beaten them. What a performance by some of their young players, goaltending. Although they lost, you’ve got to think that good things will come in the future.
Q Last year, you liked the Ducks’ chances. Who do you like this year? What about those Preds?
A At the start of the year, I picked the Penguins and the Hawks to meet in the final. People were going, ‘Yeah, you live in Pittsburgh, and, yeah, yeah, you’re a homer.’ I picked it straight-up because at the time, at the start of the year, they had lost only Ben Lovejoy in the back end and pretty much that was it. The rest of the team was returning.
I was like, ‘How can they not do this with the way they play, with their speed?’ We’ll see how it shakes out here. And then you look at the West. Nashville kind of had this floundering season where it was like, ‘When are you guys going to go?’
And Pekka Rinne’s a brick wall right now. They honestly look like a beast in the West, don’t they?