Briere: "He was trying to hurt me"
Daily News Flyers blog
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
How come nobody is talking about the slash from malkin on giroux that took him to the ice then malkin punched him in the head a few times. Sound intentional to guy coming back from a concussion. Maybe it was payback to Cindy— jersey shore drunk- cor3yf
I dont like to wish I'll will on some one but considering you think it's fine to hurt players I hope Cindy gets run face first into the boards and gets knocked out. I would dress Shelly just to run Cindy and her girl freind Gina all day and see how the Pens fans feel. Why do I have the feeling you were the guy Hartnell was mocking, you know the 80 year old 50 lb Hulkster wannabe that wearsshades inside, what a bunch of white trash— NutterIsAWasteOfAir - dress shelley and sestito on saturday.— Ryan
- LAFlyer. I have only been watching the Flyers for 39 years, and since I am unlikely to live for another 39 I will likely never see them win another Stanley Cup.
Laviolette is the idiot for putting Briere out there and a clean hit is a clean hit. The Flyers have lost their last 6 Stanley Cup finals on merit, not that you'd understand or admit it.
If it looks like whining, and it sounds like whining, it's somehow not whining? In Flyersworld............— orangerhymeswithrunts - This is why we should have dressed Jody Shelley. You sit your enforcer don't come out crying about how the Penguins dressed tough guys. We are the Flyers not some women's hockey team.— Ferrell31
- popo, call Philly what you will but at least 90% of our homes dont have wheels and get pulled by a 72 Chevy pickup that has duct tape holding the fenders on— NutterIsAWasteOfAir
- popo, call Philly what you will but at least 90% of our homes dont have wheels and get pulled by a 72 Chevy pickup that has duct tape holding the fenders on— NutterIsAWasteOfAir
Comment removed.- If the NHL insists on treating Crosby as if he is made of gold, then it would do them well to remember that the men who play hockey in this league just may grow tired of a b***h like Sidney being pampered and someone may lose their proverbial cool. Say a Marty McSorley moment or how about a Wayne Maki-Ted Green moment? If McCauley and Pochmara work another game, then the league is complicit in their incompetence and should be held liable for the results if someone gets hurt. If these two work another Flyers/Pens game, someone will get hurt for sure. You cannot watch the replay of Sunday's game and absolve these two from being either on the take or doing as they were told. But no one, repeat no one, is that blind. No one. Oh and btw girls, we may have the most PIM but Sunday we had the most goals, too. And that is why you are all here crying like little girls with skinned knees.— BigDaddy3150
WW III. Let's get it on.— Poppys- hey nutbagger, really really really clever. And you are right. But I will take duct tape on a chevy and moveable homes over people getting shot on their front porches and a mayor who intentionally blows up city blocks (see Mayor Wilson Goode). I give facts, you offer misguided opinions. Hang in there buddy, you'll get it figured out someday ;)— PoPoPhilthy
- If the NHL insists on treating Crosby as if he is made of gold, then it would do them well to remember that the men who play hockey in this league just may grow tired of a b***h like Sidney being pampered and someone may lose their proverbial cool. Say a Marty McSorley moment or how about a Wayne Maki-Ted Green moment? If McCauley and Pochmara work another game, then the league is complicit in their incompetence and should be held liable for the results if someone gets hurt. If these two work another Flyers/Pens game, someone will get hurt for sure. You cannot watch the replay of Sunday's game and absolve these two from being either on the take or doing as they were told. But no one, repeat no one, is that blind. No one. Oh and btw girls, we may have the most PIM but Sunday we had the most goals, too. And that is why you are all here crying like little girls with skinned knees.— BigDaddy3150
- hope Cindy has her head on a swivel saturday. fair is fair.— varsity
- popo, your fact is from 1986, way to be current. nobody here knows what goes on in the burg because people don't care. people know what happens in philly because people care about philly. later.— varsity
- That was retaliation for the cross check on Crosby. Laviolette should have known the Penguins would retaliate.— ej610
