Cane's Walker speaks (no suspension).

[Forkboy]

Scott Walker addressed his actions in Game 5 after Tuesday's morning skate before Game 6 here at the RBC Center.

Walker has been in the spotlight ever since his one-punch knockdown of Aaron Ward with 2:47 remaining in Boston's 4-0 victory in Game 5, an action that earned him 17-minutes in penalties, including an instigator.

Walker was not suspended after the League held a hearing with him Monday afternoon.

NHL.com's John Manasso will have the story on this in a little while, but Walker basically said that he thought he was in a fight with Ward and responded that way with his punch.

"I was trying to defend a teammate and it is an unfortunate thing to happen," Walker said.

Walker, who had no penalty minutes in these playoffs before the Game 5 incident, did not back off his belief that there was a fight about to happen and that he reacted accordingly.

"It's not something that I'm proud of, that's for sure," Walker said. "I'm not proud of it, but that is part of the game."

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=420667&navid=DL|NHL|Home

Good no suspension by the league on this. I have no problem with the punch (though the forearm against Ward while Ward was semi-engaged with another player is a different story). I thought Ward was ready to go, he looked right at Walker, and Walker just dropped the gloves in an instant and clocked Ward a good one. Dropped him like a stone...it was actually pretty impressive. :)

[joeybee12]

1. I don't follow hockey as much as you (obviously) but I thought he

should have been suspended for the rest of the playoffs.

[Forkboy]

2. meh...it's playoff hockey.

Walker could have been given a third man in call at the most, and even that's kind of stretching it as Ward and the other Canes player weren't really fighting yet. Like I said, when Walker first comes in he gives Ward a forearm while Ward is still grappling with the other guy. That bothers me more than the punch does.

You stick up for your teammates, and that's what Walker did. A little aggressively perhaps.... :yoiks:

There's actually more dangerous stuff that goes on all the time in hockey that barely gets noticed. Little whacks right behind the knee (no padding and juicy tendons...not a good mix), under the shin pad and above the skate (Jokinen on Chara the other night was a good example). That stuff is worse, but maybe gets you 2 minutes in the penalty box.

And I know how hard it is to throw punches while on skates, so I can't help but admire Walker's efficiency. :evilgrin:

[joeybee12]

3. I'll take your word for it...

...one of the reasons why I can't really get into hockey...it's almost as violent as a Lakers game these days.

[mmonk]

4. I had thought about posting about Scotty but I didn't.

Scott Walker is a stand up guy. He has had a year where he didn't know if he would skate again for us after an elbow to the head against the Pens. He tried to come back and played briefly but had symptoms and had to be scratched again. After he hit Ward, he seemed to almost slip back into a depressed state. He said he didn't want to have his career defined by the punch on Ward. He is not the player he was being described as after the incident. He is not a cheap shot player nor a goon nor a sucker puncher. I'll post this video in his honor. At the end of it, you can hear him speak and understand how emotional it has been for him as well as knowing something about what he means to the team. And thanks for not judging him too harshly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIWnzfe8O40

[Forkboy]

5. That vid is more painful to me than anything he's feeling.

;)

He seemed like a good guy to me all along. The Ward thing was playoff hockey and no big deal (and those two shook hands as well, plus exchanged some words. I don't think there's any real hard feelings there. Ward is a good guy, too). Walker is the type of guy I'd love to have my team.

I have no way to prove it, but I suspect a lot of players from the Bruins will be pulling for the Canes. You could see during the handshake that there's a lot of respect there, and as a hockey fan I don't see how anyone couldn't respect the type of hard working, team oriented game they play.

[mmonk]

6. The players have more respect for each other than the fans,

sportswriters, and broadcasters do for each other's teams. I think normally, teams do pull for the team that beats them in a series because they always tend to tell them to go all the way when its over.

I wish we still had Ward and Recchi. I remember Ward as someone you love when he is on your team, but hate when he is on the other team (which means he is exactly the type of player you want). Since he lives in Raleigh, it makes it even harder that he isn't still on the team, especially among the fanbase here. I was also mad when we didn't sign Recchi because I wanted him to stay and finish out his career in Raleigh because I thought him the perfect fit.