Boulton Drops Murray, Who’s Statistically OK

Eric Boulton lands a big right on Douglas Murray. AP Photo/Mel Evans

Boulton Drops Murray, Who’s Statistically OK

Oct 22, 2011 10:28 AM David M Singer

Eric Boulton landed a huge right on Douglas Murray, dropping the big Swede to the ice. Murray was fine, skated off and had a smile in the box.

There was one other bought last night. The Red Wings fought again, and Jonathan Ericsson clearly skated off the winner over the always-willing Derek Dorsett. Three teams still have one fighting major: the Canadiens, Islanders and Capitals. I'll take an easy guess that the Isles won't remain on the bottom of the team FM list for long.

Risk of injury "pretty damn low"

There's little reason for me to add commentary to this. Anyone who's been watching fights for years can tell you there are bad incidents from time to time, but that's not where injuries come from. From the National Post:

David Milzman is an emergency medicine physician, professor at Georgetown and Washington Hospital Center and the ER doctor on site at Washington Capitals home games.
...
"The fights aren't causing the concussions," he says in an interview. "I can say that without a doubt."
...
Dr. Milzman's observations are not just limited to anecdotes. He and a group of researchers have been studying NHL fights - literally watching slow-motion replays of every exchange of punches in the league last season - and they believe they have statistical evidence to back up his assertions. They documented 710 fights in 1,239 pre-season and regular-season games, and counted 17 injuries, for a rate of 1.12% per combatant per fight. His top-line conclusion: the risk of injury from a hockey fight is "pretty damn low."

Videos added

Derek Dorsett vs Jonathan Ericsson Oct 21, 2011
Douglas Murray vs Eric Boulton Oct 21, 2011
Paul Gaustad vs Matt Bradley Oct 20, 2011
Jordin Tootoo vs Aaron Volpatti Oct 20, 2011
Colin Wilson vs Maxim Lapierre Oct 20, 2011
Kevin Westgarth vs Paul Bissonnette Oct 20, 2011
Brad Staubitz vs Ben Eager Oct 20, 2011
Kris Newbury vs Cory Sarich Oct 20, 2011
Michael Rupp vs Tim Jackman Oct 20, 2011
Colton Orr vs Shawn Thornton Oct 20, 2011

Comments

Trevor Gillies will put up some FMs, even if he only plays half the games (current pace). Travis Hamonic will add some, and Micheal Haley will probably get some time in, too. They lost volume with Konopka, but they're not the Wings or the Habs, they'll be in the middle of the pack this season.
Posted by David M Singer on 2011-10-24 20:26:19 I'm confused as to why the writer thinks the "Isles won't remain on the bottom of the team FM list for long," as aside from Matt Martin, they have NOBODY on the team who fights.
Posted by cep on 2011-10-24 20:19:37 via Hockey Prospectus Any claim that legal hits are more dangerous than fighting, due to the number of concussions caused, is a dangerously specious one. There were 1,274 fighting majors handed out in the 2010-11 NHL season, which means there were 637 fights. This means there were 39.8 fights per percentage point of man-games lost due to fighting-related concussions (637 divided by 16). There were 55,911 hits recorded in the 2010-11 NHL season. So there were 1,747 hits per percentage point of man-games lost due to hit-related concussions. This implies that fighting is over 43 times more likely to result in a man-game lost to a concussion than a hit is.
Posted by Puck Junkie on 2011-10-23 10:53:40 You are correct Mr. Singer. But visors should be removed if two players mutually agree to engage in pugilism.
Posted by Brien Comerford on 2011-10-22 17:59:35 A player gets an extra two if he instigates with a visor on. That's good enough IMO, and I'd even lighten it - if he instigates with another player who also has a visor, I don't see what the advantage is and the penalty shouldn't be called. Visors will only be worn more and more. Juniors and minors require them, players are getting used to them. Teams, the PA, agents and insurance are all pushing it. This isn't an endorsement, it's just the way it is.
Posted by David M Singer on 2011-10-22 15:53:56 I meant to say that players who refuse to remove their visors should get an additional two minute penalty if they agree to participate in a fight.
Posted by Brien Comerford on 2011-10-22 12:42:43 Excellent report. Fighting must remain intact in the NHL. Just look at the NFL. Players try to intentionally injure Quarterbacks and other offensive stars. If that happens in the NHL the cheap shot artists have to deal with retribution. In closing, players who fight and refuse to wear their visors should get an extra 2 minute penality. Douglas Murray does remove his visor when he agrees to fight and that is commendable.
Posted by Brien Comerford on 2011-10-22 12:39:14