Ottawa at Vancouver 2/7/11

[NJDevils17]

Easy win for Chris Neil.

[Jack Schitt]

Easy win for the more experienced Neil.

[GIANTSFAN]

Two things I didn't think I'd see in a Canucks game, a bodycheck & a fight. Too bad Neil didn't pound on Daniel.

[Bloody Fists]

Neil is ripping up the league

[stevecanuck16]

Originally Posted by grimson

What a BS call. Rome didn't really Instigate that. He tied Neil up and basically said "You know I gotta Do this" and Neil accepted. They both dropped the gloves at the same time. Another BANG-UP job by the Zebras. <--- Sarcasm

I thought this, too. Rome made pretty careful not to take an instigator, given that Keith Ballard went out with an injury early and we were down to 5 D.

I love what Aaron Rome did here. Stepped up a class to stand up for his captain. And for those saying that a heavyweight would have helped here...how, exactly? This was a hit on Henrik Sedin. Do you really think a heavyweight would have been out there? And if anyone thinks a heavy on the bench would've made Chris Neil think twice about taking a run, you don't know Chris Neil.

Things like this require immediate responses, and for that you need true camaraderie. That's why its great to see a non-fighter in Rome not think twice about going after a noted pugilist in Chris Neil. That's the true definition of "team toughness."

If I have one gripe, though, its that Aaron Rome didn't really make Neil pay enough. Now, obviously that's difficult to do when fighting someone much more experienced than yourself, but I still feel he should've at least tried to slam him down or give him a couple shots on the ground. Sounds chintzy, but in this situation there has to be some level of retribution and message sending, no matter what. Stepping up to fight is great, but when your captain takes a hit like that, more of a response is necessary.

[suckerpunch]

Someone put an "A" on Neil's jersey please.
The only Senator who plays on the edge.

[Juha82]

Originally Posted by stevecanuck16

I thought this, too. Rome made pretty careful not to take an instigator, given that Keith Ballard went out with an injury early and we were down to 5 D.

I love what Aaron Rome did here. Stepped up a class to stand up for his captain. And for those saying that a heavyweight would have helped here...how, exactly? This was a hit on Henrik Sedin. Do you really think a heavyweight would have been out there? And if anyone thinks a heavy on the bench would've made Chris Neil think twice about taking a run, you don't know Chris Neil.

Things like this require immediate responses, and for that you need true camaraderie. That's why its great to see a non-fighter in Rome not think twice about going after a noted pugilist in Chris Neil. That's the true definition of "team toughness."

If I have one gripe, though, its that Aaron Rome didn't really make Neil pay enough. Now, obviously that's difficult to do when fighting someone much more experienced than yourself, but I still feel he should've at least tried to slam him down or give him a couple shots on the ground. Sounds chintzy, but in this situation there has to be some level of retribution and message sending, no matter what. Stepping up to fight is great, but when your captain takes a hit like that, more of a response is necessary.

Great thing was to see this fight happening.
True enforcing!!

[GCBC00]

Originally Posted by stevecanuck16

I thought this, too. Rome made pretty careful not to take an instigator, given that Keith Ballard went out with an injury early and we were down to 5 D.

I love what Aaron Rome did here. Stepped up a class to stand up for his captain. And for those saying that a heavyweight would have helped here...how, exactly? This was a hit on Henrik Sedin. Do you really think a heavyweight would have been out there? And if anyone thinks a heavy on the bench would've made Chris Neil think twice about taking a run, you don't know Chris Neil.

Things like this require immediate responses, and for that you need true camaraderie. That's why its great to see a non-fighter in Rome not think twice about going after a noted pugilist in Chris Neil. That's the true definition of "team toughness."

If I have one gripe, though, its that Aaron Rome didn't really make Neil pay enough. Now, obviously that's difficult to do when fighting someone much more experienced than yourself, but I still feel he should've at least tried to slam him down or give him a couple shots on the ground. Sounds chintzy, but in this situation there has to be some level of retribution and message sending, no matter what. Stepping up to fight is great, but when your captain takes a hit like that, more of a response is necessary.

What more to say, really? Safe to say we all can appreciate what Aaron Rome did, here. Pretty much the only guy, on the ice at the time, that could have taken on a Neil. Don't know if there is much more Rome could have done to Neil at the time. As for the instigator penalty (2+ the 10), you can make an argument for both sides. If you look closely, Neil actually drops his gloves first, with Rome's still on and kept on until Neil grabbed on. Rome definitely got in there and made it seem as if something was going to happen, but again, did not drop his mitts until Neil did. Hard call, but good reasoning for Rome. Wish the fight was better...
WIN NEIL

[Cat Smasher]

Win Neil, of course.

[marc123]

Win Neil

BS instigator call on Rome

[Isles4life]

Hell of a hit by Neil to lay out Henrik. Personally, I would have been much more entertained if Neil had just started teeing off on Daniel Sedin when he gave Neil a shot from behind, but I guess we had to settle for the fight against Rome. Good move by Rome to stick up for his team's star player, although he was overmatched in the fight. Win Neil.

[Janssen25]

Originally Posted by suckerpunch

Someone put an "A" on Neil's jersey please.
The only Senator who plays on the edge.

Seriously.

That was a beauty of a hit. Love what Neil brings to the game regardless of how easy it is to hate him when he plays against the Devils.

I'd take him on the Devils any day.

[yeah]

Originally Posted by suckerpunch

Someone put an "A" on Neil's jersey please.
The only Senator who plays on the edge.

Not when Lehner is playing...

[bruiser11]

Canucks need a good enforcer!

[stevecanuck16]

Originally Posted by bruiser11

Canucks need a good enforcer!

How would an enforcer have made a difference here?