Will Savard own up?

Joe Haggerty of CSNNE.COM wrote this article about the Bruins star Marc Savard needing to own up for his costly mistake that led to the historic game winning goal and epic collapse. I don't think Savard's mistake is the sole reason the Bruins lost that game, while some of the onus should be on Savard there are other reasons (mulitple) the Bruins lost the game and series. I honestly don't see Savard owning up for his mistake.

BOSTON – There's a golden opportunity approaching for one of the Bruins to step and do the right thing when the players pack up their lockers, sit in for exit interviews and shut it down for the summer after crumbling against the Flyers.

The B's will meet Tuesday morning and go their separate ways, and it will provide the stage for Marc Savard to speak up and prove he learned something amid one of the worst playoff collapses in sports history.

The B's center will have the chance to own up to the critical mistake he made in the third period of Game Seven when he waved his stick for a line change, looked away from the bench after his replacement, Vladimir Sobotka, didn't immediately come over the boards and then skated deep into the play while Sobotka hopped onto the ice to replace him.

Bruins coach Claude Julien admitted as much amid the rubble of Game Seven when he said that "a player waved for a change then changed his mind." That "player" was Savard, who requesting a line change and then experienced a sudden change of heart in the middle of a change.
In terms of Ice Hockey 101, that mistake was on Savard for not immediately getting off the ice.

Forget about the timing of the play, and whether the call was appropriate or not in the throes of a tied Game Seven during the Stanley Cup playoffs. Forget also about the four hooking calls against Savard in the series and how far his game dropped after Game 3 -- the player came back from a Grade 2 concussion after two months and shouldn't have been expected to be in peak form. Those are side issues, of course, but it was the correct call with six Bruins skaters on the ice and referees under a directive to call "too many men on the ice" much more stringently than in years past.

There were 33 "too many men" penalties called after two rounds of playoffs this season, compared to only 17 through all four rounds last year.

The penalty led to a Simon Gagne third-period goal that gave the Flyers their winning margin. [CSNNE.com]