He didn’t get seriously injured, luckily. But that’s not the point….the point is Kaleta had no regard whether or not that hit would have resulted in a serious injury. I think a lot of people would be singing a different tune if Richards was in intensive care right now with a broken neck.

Come on, even Ryan Miller said it was a bad hit! If Richards was on your team you would applaud him for being a trooper and finishing the game.

He clearly dove as Kaleta did not hit him in any definition of a “hit.”

You’re right, it was not a hit. It was a cross check into the lower back on a defenseless player. Defenseless in this case means that he had his numbers to Kaleta, and weight on his toes trying to corral a puck. What do you need to see? Kaleta extends his arm, with his stick up, and makes contact in Richards back. Kaleta’s a strong kid, and can easily knock down an off-balance skater with that motion.

Come on, “twitching”? It was embarrassing how much of an acting job that was.

Stop denying and admit that it was a dirty hit from a goon of a player. If he was acting he probably would not have sent his neck into the boards at a 75 degree angle from his spine. If he had control enough to dive, he would have made sure his shoulder and hip hit the boards, not his f______ neck. Also, anyone who was watching live saw his eyes when the camera zoomed in. They were bugging all over the place. Futhermore, it’s not like we’re talking about Marchand or Ryan Kesler here, Richards has never been called a diver. Realize that Miller and Rolston aren’t condoning the play, so the Sabres fans (forgive the generality to those who can admit it) should get over it as well, and call it what it is: Unacceptable. Plus, wouldn’t the Sabres be better if Kaleta wasn’t seeing the ice?

I would agree with commenters above that the Rangers medical staff should have kept him out longer.

When you lean in for a puck like that, it does not take much of a shot to send you head first into the boards. I could perhaps understand some fat guy whos idea of exercise is lifting his arms to stuff his face to not understand that…. but Kaleta is an NHL player. He certainly knew what he was doing, and how dangerous the hit could be.

Virtually every sizable hit could cause a concussion. If you expect teams to do a proper concussion exam every time theres a big hit, even if the player says his head is fine, there won’t be anyone left on the ice by the 2nd period.

Why is the NHLPA not gathering in a room, playing all these hits and looking each other in the eye asking, “WTF are we doing out there?”

I can’t believe Sabres fans would accuse Richards of diving on this play. Why would anyone in their right mind dive head first into the boards and risk a head concussion or broken neck in a 1-0 regular season game when they’re already on the powerplay? Hahaha seriously?!

hypocrite ; a flyers fan who says that other fans make moronic comments.

i found one too!!!!!

Hyprocritical: professing feelings or virtues one does not have