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
If Crosby had substained the same injury from Shenn's crosscheck, imagine the outcry around the NHL calling for a lifetime suspension. Since it was a Flyer who got injured, it's no big deal. I want to see Jody Shelly cheap shot Crosby, Malkin, or Letang this Saturday. I wish Sestito was available as well. He would have no problem trying to injure someone. GO FLYERS!!!!— BobbyD- looks like briere is doing his best sidney crysby impression— flyers1975lol
- Nobody can cry like Cindy:
Crosby cries to the refs about Ovechkin hat trick:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBs1SCgfFJg&feature=related
Crosby cries on TV about Ovechkin hat trick:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBvFa1A6e4k&feature=related
Crosby doing what he does best - crying:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sboI7oS9iZg - Claudia Giroux, Danielle Briere! HAHA I'm so funny and witty for giving them girls' names! LOL LOL SOOOO clever!
Penguins_Playoff_Chokers- that name is so funny for many many reasons. Did you just tune into hockey this past year? Or did you huff glue or something to forget 08 and 09.. trounced TWICE by the Pens on your ice, en route to 2 cup finals and 1 win, just to fill you in.— cor3yf - I dunno cor3yf, but the only baby I saw crying on the ice was Cindy. Complaining for about 5 minutes that someone (Schenn) touched him and he fell over, boo hoo, poor baby.— reebzor
- Announcer: "What's your prediction for the fight"
Clubber Lang: "Prediction?"
Announcer: "Yes"
Clubber Lang: "Pain."— ghostofozark - The hit on Grossmann was dirtier to me but nobody's talking about that— t4tuck
- I actually agree- more costly as well perhaps — cor3yf
- you guys quit crying for crying out loud.. I didnt see a thing wrong with it.. Im a flyer fan to the core.. I wish our players hit like that every game.. If the flyers hit like I want them too.. We slaughter the Penguins.. How do you think we came back into that game. We started hitting them as hard as we could and we beat the pns into next week. they were scared.. But the flyers took the foot off the pedal and the Pens sent a message.. We lost this game but we are not scared.. Please stop cryingand enjoy the coming games.. If every game is like that one we are gonna have fun watching..— patjr
- t4tuck: Yeah, I agree, how is nothing said about a clear knee on knee hit? Should have been at least 2 on Vitale if not 5.— Phantoms9805
- Guaranteed that if the Flyers go hunting, it will cost them time in the penalty box and maybe even missed games. They better make the plays clean for their own sake.— kmon
- cor3yf...did you not watch the same game as i did. Crosby slashed Schenn just before Schenn gave it right back to him. Crosby then wouldn't face him...stand up play!!! Crosby gets away with everything and everyone knows it...including him. I will be the first person to admit that the guy has talent...that being said...i sure dont want him on my team...no one likes a cheap shot/bs artist. And seriously...did he really say that maybe Breire shouldn't have been out there in the final minute of play...He should probably watch what comes out of his mouth. I don't think he wants to have someone send a message why he might not want to be out there during ANY minute of play. One real good hit and his playing days could be over. There is no need to increase the size of the target on his back any more then it already is. Just my 2 cents!!! It's gonna be a great series!!!— splash49
- If Saturday's game has ZERO impact on the standings, it should be head-hunting time...bounties on ALL the Pens.— Nicher
- Seems to me we need to unleash the head hunters on Cindy Crosby!— crzkat
- Crosby is a punk. period.
Briere was not crying, read his comments. He is just stating the obvious.— rpr333
