You can either play 'disciplined', and rely on the refs for help when stuff like that happens, or you can play 'undisciplined', take care of your own enforcement issues, and deal with the penalties that arise from that. There ain't no third way. Maybe two seasons ago, Domi
would have skated over and settled Grier's hash, and either gotten a roughing penalty or an instigator penalty and a misconduct (depending on wiether rier was willing to drop the gloves or not), negating the elbowing PP and putting us in a 4-on-4 situation late, with players like Jagr on the ice. Personally, I would rather see Domi skate over and whip Grier like cream, and let the penalty chips fall where they may, but Toronto fans and the Toronto media have been screaming at him for years to play 'disciplined', and not risk taking a penalty in that situation. Well, guess what, he listened to you. He fought down his emotions and was the model of 'discipline'. He kept his distance, and took no penalties.
No in-house enforcement, and little protection from the refs, because- lets face it- for whatever reason, the refs aren't too fond of blue-and-white jersys. Reichel getting his head smashed is, at least as far as I can see, the forseeable result, and I don't expect this to change anytime soon. But atleast we'll be taking a few less penalties...
