hf101 Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 A good read by Brandon Prust http://www.theplayerstribune.com/why-we-fight/ I saw a quote this summer that I thought was perfect. It was in my trainer’s gym. It said “Courage isn’t the lack of fear, but action in spite of it.” That’s not to say that everything we do doesn’t take a toll at times. Last year in the playoffs, I felt a feeling that I had never experienced before. We were down 2-0 in the series against the Rangers, my former team. I was still very close with so many of their guys. Henrik Lundqvist is one of my best buddies, and he was standing on his head for them. In my head I’m thinking, How am I going to run him without getting a penalty? How am I going to get under his skin? Am I gonna have to go punch him in the head or something? I mean, this guy knows my secrets. He might bust out a road trip story or two. It’s crazy the things you’re willing to do for the Stanley Cup. Those friendships disappear on the ice. I knew nobody on the Rangers was going to give me a fight. So I had to go out there and hit some people and cause havoc so that I force someone to come after me. On my first shift, I saw a blue jersey making a pass at the blue line and I came across him and tried to finish my check hard. He didn’t see me coming. He went down and stayed down. I knew it was a late hit. What I didn’t know is that it was Derek Stepan, one of my closest friends on the Rangers. I broke his jaw. Immediately after the game, I was texting Step to make sure he was okay. That was a bit emotional. Stuff happens, and I was hoping that we’d earned enough respect with one another that he understood I wasn’t trying to injure him. He couldn’t eat solid food for a month. But can you believe that tough son of a bitch came back and played in the same game? He scored two goals against us in Game 5 wearing a big protective shield. The Rangers won the series, and when I saw Step in the handshake line, we hugged it out. That’s hockey, man. We wouldn’t have it any other way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyercanuck Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Nice. Gotta love those type of stories. They both realize they have a job to do and when they're on the ice its more important than friendships. But they're man enough to know its nothing personal. Even if they are stinking Rangers and Habs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polaris922 Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Great inside look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Loved it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlaskaFlyerFan Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Great read.When I got to this part, I knew Prust has taken too many punches to the head, though!"For example, a couple months ago I fought Zac Rinaldo from Philly. We were up 3-0. There was no reason for me to give him the fight, and I still gave it to him. Why? He made a scene. He was pushing me, asking for it, which was smart by him." That's the first time "smart" and Rinaldo have been used in the same paragraph! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrey222222 Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 Friendship is friendship, and play is play. I think, he didn't offense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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