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Hockey world reacts to controversial Steve Bernier check

Steve Bernier

New Jersey Devils’ Steve Bernier, right, skates past celebrating Los Angeles Kings after the Kings won 2-1 in Game 2 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup finals on Saturday, June 2, 2012,in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

AP

The 2011 Stanley Cup finals had Aaron Rome’s hit on Nathan Horton, yet this year’s unforgettable - and controversial - hit might just top that. New Jersey Devils forward Steve Bernier’s check from behind on Los Angeles Kings defenseman Rob Scuderi resulted in an ejection for Bernier, a five-minute major for his team to kill and eventually three goals for the Kings.

Naturally, it also generated a ton of chatter among hockey fans and experts. Here’s a collection of some of the most interesting Twitter reactions.

Burning Bernier

Even minor mistakes tend to generate some great Twitter quips, so one can only imagine the mockery Bernier produced tonight. This is just the tip of the iceberg, but Down Goes Brown’s James Bond-inspired punishment was one of the highlights:

“Breaking: Steve Bernier has been suspended. Not by Brendan Shanahan – by his teammates, with frayed wires, over a tank of sharks.”

To little surprise, many made sarcastic jokes about Bernier deserving a bizarro Conn Smythe. Jason Botchford probably brought the deftest touch to that meme, though.

“Bernier takes his run at Conn Smythe. Late, of course, and from behind.”

In less sardonic Tweets, Corey Masisak expresses some sadness that the Devils’ great fourth line play will likely be overshadowed by that check.

Spreading the blame

One thing that could easily get lost in the Bernier-blaming shuffle is that - obviously - he wasn’t on the ice as the Devils’ vaunted PK allowed three goals during that major penalty. With that in mind, people such as Seth Rorabaugh didn’t just throw the referees or Bernier under the bus.

Regardless of the validity of Bernier’s penalty, you can’t give up three goals on a major in an elimination game. Just inexcusable.

The old guard

At least two former NHL players believe that Bernier’s hit wasn’t that bad. Wes Walz watched multiple replays of the check and concluded that Bernier didn’t have time to slow down. Theo Fleury was even more adamant about Bernier’s raw deal, though.

“What a *****y ending to a great playoffs. A hit like that in the old days would’ve got you the Conn Smythe trophy.”

Fleury represented the faction of observers who felt that Scuderi put himself into a vulnerable position during that hit. Speaking of which, judge for yourself by watching video of the check below:

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So that’s a solid cross-section of the many opinions spewed over perhaps the most memorable moment of the series. Feel free to share the funniest, most poignant and/or strangest thoughts you’ve seen in the comments - even if they’re your own.