And this is why they signed him. Late in the third period, Brooks Orpik started trying to rail people at the blue line. Basically it’d go like this: a Cap forward would angle a Rangers player near the boards. Then Batya would finish them.
First, he tried to destroy former MVP Martin St. Louis and just barely missed.
Then Evgeny Kuznetsov angled Dan Boyle towards the wall and Orpik connected.
The hit appeared to be clean, but it’s one the NHL could do without. Orpik hits Boyle in the head with his arm, but Boyle had his head low. Orpik kept his skates on the ice before lowering the boom.
A woozy Boyle would leave the game and go back to the locker room.
Rangers fans booed Orpik loudly after seeing replays on the jumbotron.
During the overtime intermission, NBCSN’s Mike Milbury called Orpik’s bodycheck a “predatory hit” and said that he “leaves his feet at the end of it,” which is not something that is anatomically possible. Milbury also thought the Department of Player Safety would be contacting him after the game.
Am I missing something here? Sometimes hockey is a dangerous sport and this is one of those moments.
Get well soon, Boyle.
