Sabres Pylon Scott was not brought to the Buffalo for his defensive skills

The North East Division teams got tougher this off-season, the much maligned Buffalo Sabres signed former Dallas Star uber punk Steve Ott and former New York Rangers, Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks pylon John Scott – not to be out done – the Montreal Canadians signed former New York Rangers tough guy Brandon Prust, who shared the NHL’s league lead in fighting majors with the Boston Bruins tough guy Shawn Thornton.

By signing these players – some have said that the North Eastern division teams are playing right into the Boston Bruins hands – last season when the Boston Bruins have at least one fighting major they have a winning record. When the Boston Bruins don't record at least one fighting major last season they had a losing record.

I do predict that these teams are not going to beat the Boston Bruins at their own game. These aforementioned teams were better off to let sleeping bears slumber.

Boston Bruins forward/tough guy Shawn Thornton led the Bruins and tied Brandon Prust for the league lead with 20 fighting majors – thirteen of Thornton’s fellow teams mates dropped the gloves as well. According to Hockeyfights.com, the Boston Bruins were second in the league in fighting majors and held a record of 37-16-8 when they recorded at least one fighting major.

James Cook, Record-Eagle --- A bruising blueliner brought in by the Sabres to contend with fiesty teams such as the Boston Bruins, Scott makes a living as an enforcer. And that role often includes fighting.

"I tell him the only thing uglier than an MMA fight is a hockey fight," Bustance joked. "He's got a good nature. But he's patient like a boxer. He's got a good eye. We can even work with the same foot position so he can do it on skates."

The 270-pound Scott isn't out there for his deft scoring touch. In 146 career NHL games, he's scored just one goal and added four assists. But he's piled up 236 penalty minutes over four seasons with the Minnesota Wild, Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers before signing a one-year contract with the Sabres this off-season.

Scott is ranked as one of the top 10 fighters in the NHL as a result of several vicious beatdowns he's handed out in his four seasons in the NHL.

His most infamous fight came when he was with the Blackhawks. It was Nov. 27, 2010, and Scott destroyed Kevin Westgarth, who is no small man himself.

Even at 6-5, 241, Westgarth appeared dwarfed by Scott, who heaped punishment on the Los Angeles Kings forward. Westgarth tapped out to end the fight, which is somewhat unusual because both participants were still on their feet.

The first thing that the Buffalo Sabres should try to do is teach former MTU defenseman John Scott how to skate, so he can take a regular shift on the ice and not just take up a roster spot. I couldn’t resist when I read this article.

The Rangers valued John Scott so much that they made John Scott a healthy scratch during the Rangers “entire” playoff run, because his former head coach John Tortorella felt he was a defensive liability and beating the crap out of people is not a desired trade that you need in the Stanely Cup Playoffs. For whatever reason, the New York Rangers also failed to resign Brandon Prust in the offseason as well.

Just for the record, I am a big fan of fighting in hockey and I relish a good fight between two willing combatants and would never be an advocate for eliminating fighting in the junior or professional ranks. That being said, let’s not kid ourselves – John Scott has one role in the NHL and that’s to beat the tar out of the opposition but let’s call it as we see it – he can’t skate or play hockey very well at all.

Finally, while the Boston Bruins might have been second in the league in fighting majors last season – all of their tough guys can skate and play a regular shift and a vital role on their team. There aren’t any one dimensional goons taking up a roster spot on their team. So while the Sabres employed Scott to dance with a few Bruins in six league games, the Sabres are still wasting a roster spot on a one dimensional player that has a hard time staying in the lineup.

Let's not trade Milan Lucic...

Checking my usual reading for the day when I came across this question in the daily mail bag to the Boston version of the ESPN Blog – it was a question that a fan posed to James Murphy.

Q. Murph, could you please explain to me why David Krejci and Milan Lucic are considered "untouchable" by the Bruins' front office? There's no doubt both show flashes of brilliance, and Lucic especially provides a rare skill set. But both are historically prone to long droughts, followed by a two-week explosion, followed by another drought -- hardly the kind of consistency Claude Julien preaches. I'm very fond of both, but explain to me why a Krejci for Bobby Ryan deal is a non-starter for GM Peter Chiarelli? People point to the fact that Tyler Seguin might not be ready to be a full-time center, and while I agree, that doesn't mean that we don't have tremendous depth down the middle. Krejci is a terrific playmaker, but somebody has to put the puck in the net. Bobby Ryan has four consecutive 30-goal seasons. Can we really expect Nathan Horton (a guy who's had his past two seasons end prematurely) to be that top-flight goal scorer? With the Rangers getting better and the Penguins getting Sidney Crosby back for 82 games, can we agree that we're going to need to score some goals this year? -- Joe O. (Los Angeles)

A. Joe, I agree with you that David Krejci and Milan Lucic shouldn't be considered "untouchable," and I'm not sure they have been put in that category by Peter Chiarelli and the Bruins' brass. What I do know is that both players were brought up in trade discussions with Columbus for Rick Nash and with Anaheim for Bobby Ryan, and that Chiarelli decided for whatever reason the package he was getting versus what he was receiving wasn't worth it. I think that with the exception of Tyler Seguin, Dougie Hamilton, Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron and Tuukka Rask, any Bruins player is fair game for the right price.

First off, I don’t know why anyone that covers the Boston Bruins or is a fan of the Boston Bruins would want the Bruins to trade Milan Lucic. The rest of the Eastern Division has played into the Boston Bruins hands and have added toughness/fighters in the off season. There is no reason to trade a player that is not only a feared fighter but also a legit top six forward can score 25-30 goals a year. Trading him away would be downright silly but also incoherent.

The other aforementioned player David Krecji – while probably not untouchable – players of his skill set do not come around every day. That being said, you just don’t trade him away like him without getting a player of his skill set back. I would also be very surprised if the Ducks offered a team like the Boston Bruins a Bobby Ryan type players without demanding draft picks, prospects and a player that is “at least” David Krecji’s skil set.

Lastly, I erg the Boston media and fans to have patience with the current roster of the Boston Bruins, I think there is a good core of players that could go very deep into the NHL playoffs. Also, players like Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin are still very early in their careers and could have break out season this year.

Tyler Seguin extends the series

The Boston Bruins are going to another game seven as Tyler Seguin scored the game winning goal at the 3:17 of overtime to send the series back to Boston. This will be the Bruins fourth game seven in the last fourteen months. Game seven is on Wednesday night (TDB) at TD North Garden. This was the first goal of the playoffs for Seguin (1g-1a-2pts).

The Bruins have stuggled to get scoring from their top two lines, David Krejci (1g-2a-3pts), Milan Lucic (0g-3a-3pts), Patrice Bergeron (0g-2a-2pts), Brad Marchand (1g-1a-2pts). Krecji also scored his first goal of the playoffs today. Brad Marchand got his first goal of the playoffs yesterday.

Richard Peverley (3g-2a-5pts), Milan Lucic, Tyler Seguin, Andrew Ference and David Krejci all had 2 points in today's win against the Washington Capitals. 

The best line for the Bruins through the first five games of the Stanley Cup playoffs has been the line of Benoit Pouliot (1g-1a-2pts), Brian Rolston (1g-2a-3pts), Chris Kelly (1g-2a-3pts).

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Alzner tells Lucic to stop crying

The Washington Capitals might want to have Karl Alzner review a few of Lucic's fight video's because the last thing that Lucic is; is a whiner. I got a chuckle out of this as well. Alzner is probably lucky that he was rescued by the ref before Lucic got a hold of him. If Alzner is confused he can confer with Paul Gaustad of Buffalo.

"Well, there's a lot of [proof] on my side to show that I'm not a crybaby," Lucic said after the game. "That's a lot coming from a guy I think who's got two roughing penalties in three years, so there you go.

Asked whether he felt Alzner was the third man in, an offense that is punishable by a game misconduct, Lucic grinned and chose his words carefully before answering, "Yup." [WEEI.COM]

Related articles

• Milan Lucic and Karl Alzner don't seem to care for each other (prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com)
• Bruins' Lucic To Alzner: 'I'm Not A Crybaby' (boston.cbslocal.com)

Michael Komisarek vs. Milan Lucic

The Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Mike Komisarek and Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic don't like each other very much. I am surprised that Komisarek would fight Lucic again after all of the time Lucic has absolutely worked him over. [Example 1] and [example 2]

Interesting comments from Brendan Shannahan

Boston Bruins bench (Photo credit: slidingsideways)

I find it funny that Brendan Shannahan felt the need to comment on this situation, there is perception around the league that certain teams aren't going to get a fair shake because of his bias against those teams. Whether it's deserved or not, it's a perception that is out there. As a Wild and Bruins fan, I don't think it's much of a stretch to say that I have seen things that are questionable and grounds for scrutiny.

Just today the NHL suspended Tyler Meyers for a very similar hit that went unpunished this season, more specifically, these were some of the same kind of hits that the Wild and Bruins players were a victim of but no punishment was levied to the perpetrator. There seems to be one set of rules for Stars and a different set of rules for the goons and third and forth line players.

D.J. Bean, WEEI --- As for the Bruins in general, Shanahan responded to the idea that he has a bias against the B’s when it comes to suspensions. Marchand, Milan Lucic and Andrew Ference have all been suspended this season for various infractions.

“It’s funny, people in Boston might think I have something against the Bruins, which is so absurd and crazy,” he said. “It makes you feel any better I can promise you all I have to do is flip on my Twitter page, or if I ever wanted to venture onto the internet, almost every team in the league thinks there a specific reason I hate their market and hate their city as well.

“I have to defend why I don’t hate Pittsburgh, or why I don’t hate Montreal, or why I don’t hate Buffalo, or why I don’t hate Minnesota. For Boston, it’s even more absurd, quite honestly. Talk about a team I grew up admiring. Cam Neely is probably the one player I tried to model my game after more than anybody. It doesn’t matter if it’s a team you grew up admiring, or a team you played for, there’s so much scrutiny in this job, you can do this job and you can’t sleep at night, if you don’t do it with as much integrity as possible. That doesn’t mean you’re perfect. You would love to have a perfect season in sports. You can objectively look at this hit and disagree with the assessment, and that’s fair. That’s always going to be fair. But it’s absurd to suggest in any market that we have a grudge or have it in against anybody.”

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Shawn Thornton vs. Mike Commodore

In this situation, former Fighting Sioux and current Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Mike Commodore didn't really need to fight Boston Bruins tough guy Shawn Thornton. I guess some guys will do whatever it takes to make the team or stay on a team.

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Milan Lucic vs Brandon Prust Fight

The New York Rangers lead the National Hockey League with 53 Fighting Majors, the Boston Bruins are in second in the NHL with 50 fighting majors. That is after adding three more fighting majors in today's game between the Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers.

This is probably a fight that the Rangers Brandon Prust will soon want to forget, I think he bit off more than he could chew by fighting Boston Bruins tough guy Milan Lucic.  Ironically, the New York Rangers punching bag forward Brandon Prust leads the New York Rangers with 17 Fights.

That was only the fifth fight of the year for Milan Lucic. 

As you can see by the video the Bruins forward Lucic got the better of Prust and worked him pretty hard and I doubt that Prust would want to do that again.

Goon and Lucic agree on Fighting

Image via Wikipedia

Huh! I looks like Boston Bruins tough guy Milan Lucic has the same stance that I do when it comes to Fighting in Junior Hockey. In fact he is saying many of the same things that I have.

“I’m totally against it,” Lucic told The Province on Wednesday.

“I think there will be more injuries because there’d be no fear of fighting. The game will become dirtier. And, for myself, I don’t think I could have made the NHL the way I did without it.”

 Lucic, maintains, though, that fighting in junior “kept me out of trouble because it’s a way of getting my aggression out.” . [The Providence]

Related articles

• Milan Lucic hit on Zac RInaldo (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
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• Corvo expects Turris to answer the bell. (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• 2012 NHL Trade Deadline Breakdown (Part 3) (insidehockey.com)
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Milan Lucic works Patrick Kaleta like a speed bag

Nothing makes me happier than watching Boston Bruins tough Milan Lucic guy work over a rat like Patrick Kaleta.

Kaleta is one of those players that thinks he is pretty tough when he is out on the taking runs at other teams skilled players. I am actually surprised that Kaleta fought a guy like Milan Lucic.



At the end of the night Kaleta catches the ire of Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid. McQuaid  decided he had seen enough of Kaleta's on ice antics and absolutely clobbers the Sabres rat in the head with a monstrous right hand.

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• Lucic, McQuaid Beatdowns On Kaleta Provide Only Highlights Of B's 6-0 Loss (boston.cbslocal.com)
• Ty Anderson: Sabres torch Rask & B's in 6-0 gongshow (hockeybuzz.com)
• Bruins Vs. Sabres Score Update: B's Robbed Of Goal, Down 2-0 Through One (boston.sbnation.com)
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Video of Tom Sestito hits on Steven Kampfer and on Nathan Horton

Tom Sestito is a known for his ability to rack up penalty minutes, today Sestito put two questionable hits on two Boston Bruin's players, both Bruins players were hit a long time after they had gotten rid of the puck.

Tom Sestito's questionable, late hit on Nathan Horton was the reason Horton had to miss the rest of the hockey game. Here is what Boston Bruins head coach Claude Julian had to say on the hit.

"He was kept out for the obvious [reasons]," Bruins coach Claude Julien said after the game. "It was kind of a head injury. He's just being reevaluated right now. That's basically all we know and that's as far as we've gone with the evaluation." [NESN.COM]

It would not be an understatement to say that this was a nasty game and there were three fights and a six fighting majors handed out during today's game. Milan Lucic worked over Tom Sestito at the 01:24 mark of the first period.

Shawn Thornton penalty shot goal

The days of the one dimensional tough guys that play five minutes a game and get into to a fight or two are becoming extinct and soon could be no longer needed, the tough guys of the future are going to need to fight as well as score goals and contribute in the score sheet. Check out this move, that's the second goal in the last four games for the Boston Bruins tough guy. Thornton was an assist away from having the Gordy Howe hat trick.

Compare and contrast

This is video proof to prove the hypocrisy of the Vancouver Canucks fans and the Vancouver media. There are a lot of hockey fans that whine about every thing the Boston Bruins do. This just proves that the Vancouver Canucks are just as bad as the team that they are whining about.

There are fans that think that there's actually a league conspiracy and that the NHL favors the Boston Bruins because Colin Campbell's son Greg Campbell plays for the Boston Bruins.

This video is from last years Stanley Cup Finals in game one where Vancover Canucks Defenseman Dan Hamhuis hits Boston Bruins forward  Milan Lucic low just like Brad Marchand did on Sami Salo and in the process Hamhuis injured himself. There was no penalty on the play, nor was there was there a suspension. Why the double standard? Yet there are fans from the Canucks and other fan bases as well as people from the hockey media calling for Brad Marchand to be suspended.  Why wasn't Hamhuis' hit suspension worthy? Where is the out cry? You can imagine the whining if Marchand isn't suspended or at least fined. [Box Score]

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Bruins and Canucks - more controversy

This is the play that lead to one of the controversies from today's game, the refs gave Bruins forward Milan Lucic a game misconduct because they thought that "he might have" left the players bench to engage in a brawl/fight. The NHL reviewed the video and has rescinded the game misconduct penalty and they have ruled that Lucic was legally on the ice and and did not leave the players bench to engage in a fight. Much to the chagrin of the Canucks fans and Bruins haters Lucic will not be suspended by the NHL.

Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand will not be as lucky as Lucic as he probably will have a disciplinary hearing with Brendan Shanahan the NHL Senior Vice President of Player Safety.

Let me be clear, I hate the Vancouver Canucks will all of my fiber, they are one of the most unlikable teams in the NHL with characters like Alex Burrows and Maxim Lapierre you enjoy watching their opposition pound them into the ice. That being said, this was an unneeded penalty at a critical juncture of the game, it's a selfish move and there was no reason to Marchand make that play.

There was a lot of discussion about this hit on Twitter, it's a dangerous hit but you can see that Marchand hits Sami Salo who is much bigger than Marchand in the thigh. Marchand's five minute major cost the Boston Bruins two goals and it was the reason the Canucks won the game. As far as what Marchand will get in the way of discipline, no clue. Due to the inconsistent ruling coming from Shanahan, you have to wonder if Shanny is using the Colin Campbell Wheel of Justice.

This turned out to be an odd event. The on ice officials probably made the right call by penalizing both players. I guess Wiese didn't want to get pounded by Bruins tough guy Shawn Thornton.

Douglas Flynn, NESN.COM --- Gregory Campbell did attempt to exact some retribution on Lapierre later in the first, squaring off for a long fight directly off the faceoff after Brad Marchand had tied the game. Thornton then dropped his gloves on the ensuing faceoff, but Wiese backed out of a verbal agreement to engage.

"He's said, 'Let's go,'" Thornton said. "I don't know if he was talking to me or someone else. [Referee] Donnie [VanMassenhoven] heard him and that's why he went with me [to the penalty box], I'm assuming. Donnie said, 'Wait 'til the puck drop,' I said, 'Of course,' and I heard [Weise] say, 'We'll go.' Maybe he was taking to Quaider [Adam McQuaid]. I don't know. Obviously I thought it was go time."

That proved just one of the many frustrations of the day as the Bruins were unable to continue their domination of the Canucks on home ice this time around.

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Habs spared the wrath of Lucic, Lucic suspended for one game

After watching the NHL Senior Vice President of Player Safety Brendan Shanahan and his ruling today I have come to the conclusion that there is no consistency in his ruling. Milan Lucic was suspended today for boarding Flyer goon Zac Rinaldo. Rinaldo didn't even think the hit deserved a penalty on the play.
Lucic drew a five-minute major and game misconduct, yet Rinaldo doesn’t feel that was warranted.

“It’s hockey, you hit and go into the boards, I don’t think it was dirty at all,” Rinaldo said. “Shoulder-to-shoulder and just momentum. He’s big guy, maybe double my weight. His momentum carried him into the boards awkwardly. I don’t think it was dirty at all.”

He added: “Should–to-shoulder, that’s fine, that’s cool. I don’t mind it at all.”

Then why, after a scrum developed, did Rinaldo leave the pile trading punches with Nathan Horton?

“I don’t know, I got up and he was first one in front of my face,” Rinaldo said. “I knew I was Lucic [who hit me].” [CSNPhilly]

After watching the NHL fail to suspend Dion Phaneuf's for his hit on Zach Kassian, which was more egregious in my opinion, you would have thought that Lucic would get off without a suspension. So go forward, the fans have no clue what is going to get a players suspended and what is not.

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Will Lucic be suspended?

Bruins forward Milan Lucic has a hearing Monday for his hit on Flyers forward Zac Rinaldo, the big question is, will Lucic be suspended for his hit on Rinaldo. I would have to say, based on what I saw in a recent ruling by Brendan Shanahan; comparing Dion Phaneuf's hit on Zach Kassian and Milan Lucic's hit on Zac Rinaldo, I would say no, this hit was not as bad as that hit.

Related articles

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Milan Lucic hit on Zac RInaldo

Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for this hit on Flyers forward Zac Rinaldo. In looking at the video, and watching the game, I don't think you will see a suspension to Milan Lucic.

The reason I say that I don't think that Lucic will be suspended is that last night Toronto Defenseman Dion Phaneuf  buried Buffalo Forward Zack Kassian into the boards and wasn't suspended. In my opinion that hit was worse than Lucic's hit on Rinaldo. So I don't see a this and there was no suspension given to Phaneuf.

I know that if Lucic isn’t suspended by the NHL we are going to hear the conspiracy theorist claim that the NHL is in bed with the Bruins because Colin Campbell’s son Gregory plays for the Boston Bruins, however, I don’t think this hit is suspension worthy.

After Milan Lucic's questionable hit on Flyers goon Zac Rinaldo, who has been in eight fights this season, goes after and challenges Bruins forward Nathan Horton to a fight. As a Bruins fan, I get a little worried  seeing one of the Bruins top six forwards, who has suffered a concussion in the past year, fighting an experienced fighter like Rinaldo. Rinaldo (1g-4a—5pts) is a cement head and is on the ice for one thing. Rinaldo is there to fight and cause havoc, you would think he should have challenged Lucic to the fight.

Related articles

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Hey Seguin set your alarm clock.

Image via WikipediaForward Tyler Seguin (13g-12a—25pts) is the future of the Boston Bruins and is the leading scorer for the Bruins so far this season and he leads the Bruins second leading scorer Milan Lucic by 5 points.

Boston Herald --- “He missed a team breakfast and a team meeting this morning,” said GM Peter Chiarelli, explaining Seguin’s absence from the lineup vs. the Jets. “He didn’t wake up. Honest mistake. But we have team rules. We abide by them. He has to abide by them. So that’s the reason for his scratch.”

The Bruins flew from Pittsburgh late Monday night, arriving at their Winnipeg hotel at around 2 a.m. today. Chiarelli said this was not the first time Seguin has broken such team rules.

“He’s had a couple of instances before,” said the GM. “I don’t see it as a problem. I see it as a young player who sometimes forgets to set his alarm. We gave him a couple of passes (in the past). It’s a young kid who’s learning to be a pro — and is a heck of a player.”

That being said it’s time to grow up and get to the meetings when you’re supposed to, a mandatory meeting means that everyone needs to show up. I also think it’s time for some of his teammates to make sure that he doesn’t miss anymore meetings.

Jordin Tootoo runs over Ryan Miller.

First off I have no idea what Jordin Tootoo is trying to do in this instance, compare and contrast this with the Lucic incident, Miller is in the blue paint and Lucic ran into Miller going for a puck. In Tootoo's case he simply left his feet and ran over Miller, you can not just run over the the goalie like Tootoo did. I think Jordin Tootoo is going to be getting a suspension from the NHL for this move.

I guess since no one from the Sabres initially responded to Milan Lucic running over Ryan Miller I guess other players around the league think that it's O.K. to run over Ryan Miller and other goalies around the NHL over. This time the Buffalo Sabres responded the correct way to Tootoo's knuckle headed move.

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Andy Brickley on Phil Kessel

Image via WikipediaCheck out what former Boston Bruins player and NESN Hockey Analyst Andy Brickley had to say about former Gopher and Boston Bruins forward Phil Kessel, some interesting things. [Click to listen]

Andy Brickley was asked by the WEEI host if he knew Kessel and why he wasn’t happy here [Boston]. Not real flattering.

Brickley said, "I think he was just an really immature kid, he had some baggage, personal baggage when the Bruins first drafted him and they [Bruins] were well aware of it, the immaturity factor. Expectations level not only by the Bruins organization but for Phil himself, I don't think he was prepared for that. Could not not handle criticism, could not handle that you have to earn your ice time,kind of Claude Julian system or whoever was coaching or just the Bruins organizational belief, I don't think he was ready for that.

And then when he had a break out year where season where he scored a bunch of goals he saw how much money everyone was else making across the league, based on those numbers and he wanted that money then and there and the Bruins weren't prepared to pay him."

Sounds like an entitlement player to me.

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