from Sean Gordon of the Globe and Mail,

Most pro sports view acts of wanton violence as a failure, to be lamented and erased from memory as quickly as possible; in hockey, they can become cultural touchstones.

Call it a manifestation of the game’s lizard brain: Talent can be countered by brutishness, and the beauty is it works almost every time.

In a wider sense, to be a key offensive performer in the NHL is to suffer the democratizing effects of ill treatment. Skill players tend to be phlegmatic about it.

“It’s part of the expectation of playoff hockey, right? Guys on the other team trying to make it extremely difficult in a physical way on the other team’s skill forwards – and we’re trying to do the same for them,” said Ottawa Senators centre Kyle Turris, a dynamic player who is often singled out for rough handling.

The dominant narrative from Ottawa’s series opener with the Montreal Canadiens focused on Sens sniper Mark Stone’s health following a slash from the Habs’ P.K. Subban. He wasn’t the only player targeted in the game.

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