Darcy Tucker is NUTS

And I’m glad he’s out of the Eastern Conference…check this out from the Avs/Wild game:

Late in the second period, Tucker and defenseman Nick Schultz clashed deep in the Wild€™s zone. After the pushing match, the two lined up next to each other on a faceoff and Tucker began screaming at him as the Wild was on a penalty kill. Schultz was called off the ice on a line change and as he skated by, Tucker continued barking at him.

Then, 6:33 into the third, in a despicable act but one he€™s done often in his career, Tucker came in way late on Schultz, bent down and went right for the knees. He was called for clipping.

First, an aside: clipping? I thought that was only called in the NFL? If you think Russo is a bit thick with the hyperbole, here’s a comment from Schultz himself after the game:

€œMy concern is at the end of the second, he tells me he€™s going to come and take out my knees, and then he actually does it. It says everything you need to know about that guy.”

Emphasis mine. So according to Nick Schultz, this was an intentional attack at his knees (which Tucker has a reputation for). What happened in the game to take care of this, by the way? MATCHING MINORS. That’s right, since Schultz took exception to the hit (as he should!) he got a roughing penalty. But hey, we have to let the officials police the game, right? UGH. Thanks to Mike Russo at the Star-Tribune.