I disagree.Aaronp18 wrote: The d-man had all the time he needed to avoid contact with Smith's head
IMO the bad decision was by the forward for attempting to cut into the middle at the last second, and not realizing that the Dman was playing it so aggressively.
Definately, but unfortunately it is the job of the forward to be aware of this.Aaronp18 wrote: He just clips the front of him as he's hitting him, he's actually pretty lucky Smith wasn't a better player. If he stopped short a bit d-man Smith would have flown right by him. I just don't think he expect the d-man to run at him like that, probably figured he would play him like a more standard one on one.
I believe that if the forward stayed course instead of cutting to the middle at the last second it would have been a much more square hit as you are suggesting.Aaronp18 wrote: Either way, the d-man should have targeted more of him body, catching shoulder and hip.
EDIT - it's a tough call, but I think it is unfair to pin it all on the Dman like Shanny did.