Malkin not disciplined

Another questionable hit on a Boston Bruins by a Pittsburgh Penguin and another Penguin escapes punishment by the NHL. So basically, don't expect a player to get suspended if they hit a Boston Bruin with a questionable hit.

I could see how Boston Bruins fans might question the NHL and their judgement. Also, I think that Brendan Shanahan is basically a fraud and no better than Colin Campbell, there are one set of rules for star players and there is another set of rules for tough guys and goons. One could also make the argument that, if Milan Lucic or Brad Marchand had hit Malkin or Sidney Crosby with a hit like this, they would've been suspended or at least fined by the NHL. 

Mike Cole, NESN --- The Bruins have been the victim of some suspect hits over the years in Pittsburgh, and once again, the league has allowed the Penguins to skate without punishment.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the league will not discipline Pens star Evgeni Malkin for his hit on Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk which came in the third period of the Penguins' 5-2 win over Boston on Sunday.

While the hit was not nearly as bad as the hit Matt Cooke leveled Bruins center Marc Savard with two years ago, there were some that thought Malkin would be looking at least a fine.

Related articles

• Malkin hit on Boychuck (ndgoon.blogspot.com)

Malkin hit on Boychuck

The powers that be in the NHL gives us lip service on how they want to take these types of dirty and unnecesarry hits out of the game of hockey.

In fact the powers that be want to take these types of hits out of all levels of hockey, but then the officials let a super star player off of the hook by only giving them a two minute minor.

I guess it's okay to make these types of dirty and dangerous hits that if your star player like Evgeni Malkin. It would appear that you're not going to the get the five minute major and the game misconduct, if you're a star player like Malkin.

After the game, the head coach of the Boston Bruins Claude Julien didn't seem to like the Malkin hit on defenseman Johnny Boychuk.

"My opinion doesn't matter," Julien said. "We'll have to wait to see what happens from that. But it was Malkin that hit, right? It wasn't [Matt] Cooke? It was Malkin. We'll see. The league will have to look at it. It was a hit from behind. They're the ones who make those decisions. We don't like those hits.

"My job is tough enough as it is. I don't want to do his, because his job is pretty tough as well," Julien added of NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan. "I'm talking about Shanny. So we'll let Shanny do his job and I'll do mine and we'll just move on. You've just got to look at it that way. For different reasons they make their assessments and they decide. So we as coaches have to do our jobs and work with the guys we have." [NESN.COM]

More fuel for the fire is, why was Johnny Boychuk allowed to return to the game after he just got hit with a questionable check and it looked as if he was dazed after the hit. Boychuk had just returned to the Boston Bruins line up after being out a two games with a concussion. 

Evgeni Malkin's goal...

This doesn't require a lot of narration but check out this sweet goal by Evgeni Malkin. This is a classic end to end rush blowing by everyone on the ice and then he fakes the Tampa Bay goalie Dwayne Roloson out of his jock.

Related articles

• Malkin's hat trick leads Pens past Lightning 8-1 (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Pens Pull Plug On Lightning, Win 8-1 (pittsburgh.cbslocal.com)
• Malkin hat trick powers Penguins past Lightning (theglobeandmail.com)

Will this hit warrant a suspension or Not?

Check out this hit by Penguins Kris Letang on the Jets Alex Burmistrov during last night's game in Winnipeg. I don't think this boarding call is worthy of a suspension and I don't think the NHL needs to suspend every player that commits a questionable play/penalty.

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• Suspension coming for Penguins' Kris Letang? (aol.sportingnews.com)

Boston Bruins set up to repeat?

Image by slidingsideways via FlickrI would say that the Boston Bruins based on who they lost and who they retained during the offseason; would have to be “one” of the favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference and repeat as Stanley Cup champions. That’s not to say that the Bruins won’t be challenged by the other teams in the Eastern conference because they will, I would also put the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Pittsburg Penguins if Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are healthy as teams that will also compete for the Eastern Conference crown as well.

NHL.COM --- Unlike the mass exodus from Chicago last season, and even the losses Pittsburgh incurred two years ago, the Bruins will return much of their Cup-winning club intact. They have three key players to replace: Mark Recchi, Michael Ryder and Tomas Kaberle.

Recchi defied time in the Cup Final, authoring a vintage performance and finishing the 2011 postseason with 5 goals and 14 points. He embraced the role of steady, veteran leader and spent much of the season on the second line. He slumped early in the postseason, but came on strong to help win the Cup for the third time in his career before announcing his retirement on the ice after Game 7.

Ryder was one of several Bruins who elevated his play during the Cup run. He had only 18 goals in each of the past two regular seasons, but racked up 8 goals and 17 points in the playoffs and earned a hefty contract from the Dallas Stars.

Kaberle struggled for much of his time with the Bruins after arriving in one of the marquee deals of the 2011 trade deadline. The power play was awful during the postseason, and that was expected to be the one area where he helped. He did finish the postseason with 11 assists, but was mostly a third-pairing defenseman in tight games. Had Boston not won the Cup, the trade would be considered a huge disappointment. Kaberle signed with Carolina as a free agent.

Boston also lost depth defenseman Shane Hnidy, and the future of center Marc Savard remains uncertain -- he only played 25 games for the Bruins last season while recovering from a concussion.

Related articles

• NHL Injury Report: Boston Bruins' Marc Savard Not Likely to Play in 2011-2012 (bleacherreport.com)
• Boston Bruins: Will David Krejci Get a New Contract by the Start of the Season? (bleacherreport.com)
• You: 5 Reasons Tyler Seguin and the Boston Bruins Will Be Better in 2012 Than 2011 (bleacherreport.com)
• Boston Bruins: Six Reasons They Are Better Without Tomas Kaberle (bleacherreport.com)
• Boston Bruins: Will Marc Savard Get His Name Engraved on the Stanley Cup? (bleacherreport.com)

Malkin has torn ACL and MCL

This is really bad news for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Malkin is one of the Penguins top forwards. Sidney Crosby has been out with a concussion since January 5th, so the injuries are starting to pill up for the Penguins.

NHL.COM --- Head coach Dan Bylsma told the media that Evgeni Malkin has a torn ACL and MCL.

"Evgeni Malkin had an MRI this morning. The results show that he has a torn MCL and ACL. At this point in time we are discussing options with the doctors on what to do next.

"This is a difficult injury for him. It was kind of a fluke situation going into the boards with a guy. That's a tough injury for Geno. We have dealt with games without him. We've managed to find our way without him. That's what we're going to have to look at now.

"We're discussing options with our doctor. Surgery is a possibility. I'm not sure if there is a rehab possibility. But right now I just got the news on the MRI."