Drawing first blood

By Steven Lienert

With just over eight minutes left in in last night's Flyers-Sabres playoff game, Buffalo defenseman Brian Campbell delivered a crushing -- and legal -- shoulder check on Flyers center R.J. Umberger.

Umberger was left in a Lindros-like heap at the blue line. The trainer came out, sat him up -- and blood began to pour from both nostrils.

Meanwhile, the fans at HSBC Arena let out one blood-thirsty "oooooohhhhh" after another while the jumbotron hanging high above center ice replayed the hit over and over again. Each time, you could feel the fans' bloodlust elevate.

Umberger could not leave the ice under his own power, but that didn't stop two teammates from helping him off as quickly as possible. Some replays showed Umberger spit out one of his teeth just before going into the tunnel.
Buffalo fans, meanwhile, had morphed into a gaggle of Romans after a day at the Coliseum.

Yeah, if that had happened in Philadelphia, it would have made national news. But I'm not here to wag my finger at Sabres' fans.

If that happened in Philly, I would have loved it. Furthermore, the only down side that I saw was that it happened to a Flyer. Other than that, it was awesome.

This is what the quest for Lord Stanley's Cup is all about.

It's a war. It's a fight. Players get knocked unconscious. They lose teeth. They bleed from the nose. Teams don't disclose specifics on injuries. Intensity, adrenalin and testosterone levels are off the charts. Players get cut, go to the dressing room, get stitched up and come back to play in the same game.

What other sport brings this kind of stuff to television?

The NBA? Puh-leeze. They whine if the ref doesn't award them two shots for getting touched on the forearm.

Baseball? They lose teeth and get knocked unconscious -- only in a comical way. Like when two outfielders don't call each other off a pop fly and they slam their heads together like Moe would do to Larry and Shemp. And don't tell me about a catcher getting railroaded by a baserunner. The last catcher to get hurt that way was Ray Fosse in the 1970 all-star game.

The NFL? While concussions abound, bleeding from the nose is very rare and I haven't seen anybody spitting out their teeth after a vicious over-the-middle hit recently. What a shame -- but there's potential there.

The rules are different when it comes to the NHL Playoffs. Not just for the players, either. For the fans, too.

It's okay to cheer if someone on the other team just got destroyed. Furthermore, they should show that hit on the jumbotron for years to come.

All you'll have to say is, 'Do you remember that hit on Umberger?' and Buffalo fans will recite 'Brian Campbell, 8:34 left in regulation, left him for dead at the blue line. We won in double-OT. Great game."

The Sabres have drawn first blood.

And hockey has officially returned.

Steve Lienert can be reached at stevelienert@hotmail.com