Bruins' Ward feared to have broken orbital bone

Bruins' Ward feared to have broken orbital bone

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While I have an affinity for post-season hockey for one reason, and one reason only, fighting, this is just ridiculous. In general, I neither advocate nor like watching violence. But, there is something about two over-padded, grown man stripping each other on the ice that I find appealing. Frankly, it's probably the comedy of it all. They are wearing huge gloves, helmets, pads, and the best part, ice skates. That's right, playoff hockey is a funnier version of professional boxing. And, then there's the whole scoring thing... but again, without the fighting there would be far fewer power plays and I think that's would dramatically change the game.

But, Wards' injury is almost as pointless as Steve Yzerman's orbital fracture during the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2004. It was sad and troubling and you just wanted to yell at the man, "Put a face mask on! You just blew our season!" Of course, Yzerman was actually hit with a puck, not by another player. In any event, when these injuries occur you can't help but question whether enough is being done to protect players. On the other hand, shouldn't players be allowed to determine their own level of risk or should the team's success take precedence? Few other sports are so liberal about the rules on protective gear and many make new rules each time a player suffers a serious (or sometimes not so serious) injury. For example, the new "Brady" rule in football.