Het tard boys, say what you want about eurotrash visor wearing guys starting shit, I hate that too, but visual evidence is something different. Avery clearly took a cheap shot, dudes stick didnt even hit the ice while avery's haymaker was inches away from his face. How can anyone ever defend this shitbag. He was on my Red Wings for a bit and I could not stand him.

Look at these pics and tell me Smid should have been ready.http://www.coppernblue.com/2010/11/14...

Smid should have been ready. Because he had just tried to initiate a fight... but he dropped his guard. Whether Avery duped him into doing so or not, it was his mistake.

If some skater is coming up through center ice carrying the puck with his head down, and Smid plasters him, would that be a cheap shot? No, because a puck carrier should keep his guard up. So should anyone on the ice, including a guy who moments earlier was looking for a fight.

Once again, the GOTHAMIST proves its "sports writers" actually know nothing about sports. Please, stick to articles about crepe shops and hipster culture.

Smid clearly challenged Avery, and was in the process of dropping his gloves. Avery simply was too fast for the visor-wearing Euro, and drilled him. I'm sure the Gothamist faculty now has to attend therapy after watching that clip..

Seriously? A sucker punch? Did you post the wrong video?

You also might notice a few thing in that photo:

1) Smid also dropping gloves. Notice that Smid's glove is actually closer to the ice.

2) Smid about 6 inches taller than Avery.

3) Smid wearing a visor while Avery doesn't.

http://www.coppernblue.com/2010/11/14/1814511/sean-averys-cheap-shot-on-smid-video-review-smids-gloves-were-not-off

Where is Smids glove closer?? Way to make shit up in your head. I could be wearing a bullet proof vest, but if we decide to take ten paces and duel and you turn around at 3 paces, you still have the advantage.

Jesus. Watch a game or two before you write about a sport. Smid himself said he should have been ready.

sigh. leave the hockey talk to people who actually know hockey.

This is ridiculous, Smid had already dropped his gloves before Avery punched him. If you're not expecting to fight, don't drop your gloves, and if you are expecting to fight, and you drop your gloves, you should be ready to be punched.

Absolutly no sucker punch. Everyone knows that if you challenge Avery he never backs down.

Gothamist knows nothing about sports and should stop writing posts about any major sports.

Stick to the Quiddich!

Ah man, I totally wish I'd suggested "Quidditch" instead of golf in my comment.

But yeah, Gothamist's Quidditch coverage does seem to be their strong point as far as the sports world.

"As one fan told the Post, "It just shows you what kind of guy he is. He'll get his [from] somebody who is bigger and tougher. He'll get what's coming.""

That quote was from an Edmonton player, not a fan. Steve MacIntyre, a classy guy who was in the penalty box at the time after having been in two fights himself. If you do your "reporting" by just repeating what the Post says, you have to pay at least as much attention as they do.

Of course, that's not the only piece in the Post that mentions the incident. It's the one that expresses only the Edmonton side of it. If you watch the video yourself, though, instead of just repeating that propaganda blindly, you'll see that it's an inaccurate and biased view.

The check Avery threw on Foster was totally legit. It was hard, but it was a clean check.

His antics with Smid on the other hand...while it may not be a sucker punch, it certainly surprised the Smid. And really, if you're going to fight, square off and drop your gloves, make sure the other player is ready and then go at it.

As for the scrum, nice to see the Rangers standing up for each other. Edmonton had 8 players on the ice, at least 3 of them should be suspended for jumping over the boards. Dubi gets a fine when he was only defending himself.

Except for what Christensen said to the Edmonton media, about it clearly looking like a sucker punch. Way to get your teammates' backs. That really annoyed me. And I wonder what the final straw was, what Smid said to set Avery off, because it looked like it wasn't going anywhere. Glad to see Avery fighting, he usually runs his mouth then hides behind the refs.

For anyone that didn't see the whole thing, here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTzwXvVJR8Y

Watch that full clip, paying attention first to the initial sequence of live action with the action between Avery and Smid off-camera, and then to the isolation of the two of them. First thing, there's no way anyone with any hockey knowledge will see that as a cross check; it simply isn't. Read the rulebook. Clean hit.

After the initial hit, when Smid first accosted Avery, the Rangers had just taken possession of the puck and were starting to move up-ice out of the zone. Avery isn't looking at Smid, because he's watching the action -- as he should be doing. Don't get into a fight while the other two guys on your line are starting an offensive play.

They're turned back into their zone, and then the puck carrier circles back again near the goal line. At that point, Avery drops his gloves and moves on Scrid. Until that point, he'd never even really looked at him, and would have no idea whether Scrid was looking at him and would see what he was doing.

Bottom line, Avery did nothing wrong. He did exactly what he's paid to do.

Oh, yeah, I wasn't saying that at all. Totally clean hit that the Oilers overreacted to, and they got what they deserved. I love Avery, but only because he's on the Rangers.

Huh? I see no "sucker punch" in that video.

I see hockey. If you don't like it, watch classy guys play golf instead.

Let me guess, you're an Isles fan.

I usually don't defend Avery, as he does plenty of stupid things (his actions with Brodeur and Tim Thomas come to mind). However, this time I don't really have a problem with him.

First off, you are dead wrong about a cross-check. There was none. It was a legal hit to the boards. A good, hard check.

Smid, who all of a sudden apparently fancies himself a tough guy, challenges Avery. You can see him mouthing "Let's go. Let's go."

Avery waited. Why? We don't know. The Oilers can say all they want about what was said between the two, but the reality is we don't know. Then Avery drops his gloves, as does Smid. The only difference is that Smid was surprised and backed away. Then he got tagged because he was too slow to defend himself.

The question here is why did Smid challenge a known fighter to a fight and then start skating away?

I have no sympathy for him. And where was Stortini? He was on the ice. Why didn't he go after Avery?

One other note, the Oilers had eight men on the ice during the brawl to the Rangers' five. But let me guess, Bettmann with his hard-on for Avery will only suspend him.

Let me guess, you've never played hockey. If you have, then you're embarrassing yourself.

Hockey players may be labeled as brutes, but when it comes to fighting there are unwritten rules. You let a guy square up.

Avery is the poor man's Tie Domi. If he wants to actually fight, there's boxing gyms all around the country full of guys that want to fight.

Even with your unwritten rule, you are wrong. Smid drops his gloves at the same time, he was yammering away at Avery as he skated away, and who knows what he said. Avery was just quicker. End of story. Smid has learned a lesson.

The thing I love about unwritten rules is how they're violated game in, game out and subjectively applied by people based on a particular bias.