Briere: "He was trying to hurt me"
Danny Briere said he would be the first to admit that Joe Vitale’s hit on Sunday in Pittsburgh, which sparked a near line brawl with just 1:03 left in a 6-3 game, was a clean hit.
Briere: "He was trying to hurt me"
Danny Briere said he would be the first to admit that Joe Vitale’s hit on Sunday in Pittsburgh, which sparked a near line brawl with just 1:03 left in a 6-3 game, was a clean hit.
But Briere certainly wasn’t willing to concede that Vitale’s intent was pure, searching for a hit that has ultimately ended his regular season prematurely.
Briere said on Tuesday morning that he believes Vitale was sent to the ice with the intent to injure. Peter Laviolette was fined $10,000 on Monday for his on-ice antics with Penguins assistant Tony Granato and his subsequent comments for coach Dan Bylsma, whom he called “gutless.”
“Look, everybody knows that (they) put the line that was on the ice, on the ice with a minute left in a game that was out of hand,” Briere said. “Everybody knows the intent, what the intent was. Was it a bad hit? No. It was a clean hit.
“But obviously, you knew what he was doing. He was obviously trying to hurt me. We all know that.”
Now, Briere said he “doesn’t have the option” of playing another game before the playoffs start. He is officially sidelined indefinitely with an upper-back contusion. He has undergone MRIs and all kinds of tests and is currently undergoing treatment for the injury.
We wrote more about Briere and Nick Grossmann's injuries, plus much more, in Tuesday's paper.
Briere said he is not sure when he will return to the lineup. There is never a good time for an injury, but Briere’s line with Wayne Simmonds and Brayden Schenn was one of the Flyers’ most potent recently. The trio had netted a combined 19 points in the last 5 games alone.
“I don’t know much at this point,” Briere said. “All I know is that my back is in spasms. They have some fancy words for it that I don’t understand. There is no timetable.
“I’d like to be ready for the playoffs, I just don’t know at this point.”
Briere said he likely saved himself from a concussion since he was able to quickly brace himself before Vitale drove his shoulder into him.
“I tried to take the hit,” Briere said. “It’s just one of those things sometimes that turns out bad. It was weird. I was sore right after but it wasn’t that bad, I thought I’d be fine. A couple hours later, that’s when it started seizing up on me.”
With a score to settle, Briere is now hoping he will get another crack at the Penguins.
“There’s not much else to say or do,” Briere said. “I guess it just makes for a more entertaining series coming up if we face them in the first round.”
PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS: With any overtime action in Tuesday's matchup with the Rangers, the Flyers will clinch a matchup with the Penguins. Home ice can still be flip-flopped in the final week. But one point won by New York or lost by Pittsburgh will clinch the No. 1 seed for the Rangers. One point won by the Flyers would lock the Devils into the 6th spot.
For the latest updates, follow Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @DNFlyers
Comment removed.- You call that a run? check the tape. Vitale took about 2 steps. And you fail to address what I said earlier- If Philly 'plays a more physical game' resulting in more penalties, why do the Penguins have more hits than you?? Enlighten me; I am sure I am missing something.
— cor3yf - Vitale hit the player who was coming thru center ice with the puck and his head down. It could have been the biggest player in the League and Vitale would have tried to do the same thing. Next time, maybe Briere will skate with his head up! — Mounty in NC
- Not every hit deuchebag....but definitely ones that are 1 minute left in a game with a 3 goal deficit. Total punk move, but not surprising from a player on Pitt. Sindy and Eva are going down.— cdedrick05
- Time to put the final blow on Crosby and end his career. You know it's coming sooner or later. I'd like to see a hit like the one Stevens put on Lindros in 2001. Go Flyers!— eaglelover1979
- Ahh, another thinking man's Flyers fan. — orangerhymeswithrunts
- Any intelligent fan of the game that saw that particular game would agree. It was a clean hit, but there was definite intent to injure. It was only because Briere put his head up and braced for the hit, as he himself said, that he wasn't delivered a concussion. Things like this have no place in a professional sport. I don't care who delivered the hit. I wouldn't care if it had been Shelley for the Flyers. It's just not called for in today's game. It's a much faster game than it was, even ten years ago. Plays like that can end someone's career. That's never good, no matter who the player is getting hit.
Best to Briere for a speedy recovery!— NYluvsPhylers - I am willing to bet that most "intelligent fans" you speak of would argue that Schenn's cheap cross-check on Sid's back has less of a place in the game of hockey than Vitale's clean, legal hit as a response. By the way, which team has the most penalty minutes? I cannot remember. — cor3yf
- Schenn barely tapped Crosby, he was sending a message for Cindy to stop slashing Flyer players. Crosby slashed Giroux across the hands in the first period, then Crosby slashed Vorachek after he scored in the second period and slashed Jagr in the third. All three slashes could easily have broken a hand or a wrist...which was Crosby's intention.
- If Vitale had no intent to injure he wouldn't have followed through with his elbow, which missed because Briere did have his head up. And your Crosby took a dive. That was the softest crosscheck I've ever seen that knocked a player to the ice. your Crosby is the only player I've seen in recent years who is apparently allowed to slash players in the knees without any repercussions. But in the end, I blame my Flyers. The Flyers I grew up with would have put Crosby back in the hospital about two months ago. — wildboark
- The so-called cheap shot to Crosby by Schenn was nothing of the sort. Crosby flopped, as he normally does, trying to draw the call. Evidence? You take a cheap shot to the back in a competitive game and you're immediate reaction is to see who delivered the hit. Crosby? He looks to the ref first.
That's right. The guy who might be the strongest on his skates among all NHL'ers, yet goes down like.. well... you know... looks first to the ref after Schenn gives him a half hearted cross check between the shoulder blades.
— 1twofour1 - Time to end Crosby's career and make him a vegetable in the ICU! Concussions aplenty for Sid. Light out in two weeks!— eaglelover1979
- Ballsma just put Cindy and Jeano's health on the line ... they will be targeted for hunting now ...— drewlo
- A lot of class here just as usual. Good job Philly keep setting the standard— cor3yf
