Why Do You Make Me Hit You With This Hockey Stick?

Moon went down in a junior league (CHL) game after Oshawa Generals captain James DeLory slashed him in the knee from behind. Then DeLory rabbit-punched him in the face, but that's neither here nor there. But Greg Wyshynski over at Puck Daddy offers a different interpretation of the assault—Moon was maybe sort of asking for it.

Seconds before DeLory went after Moon, Moon slashed him in retaliation for a perfectly clean hit (delivered by a different player.) DeLory's reaction was obviously an insanely disproportionate response and he clearly deserves whatever punishment is coming to him, but do chippy tough guys like Moon bear any responsibility for pissing people off until they get shanghaied? It's probably a bad example for Greg to make his point with, but does that make the point invalid? With everyone so concerned about hockey violence (again), it's probably worth considering the little things that always lead to the bigger things.

And if you don't consider it, I will hit you in the face with this puck.

Video: Brutal junior hockey attack or justifiable retribution? [Puck Daddy]