Caps want to take advantage of wear and tear on Bruins

Alzner Shoots (Photo credit: clydeorama)

After reading this blog post and some of the other ones from the Capitals media, it kind of hit me that the Washington Capitals have done a lot of extra talking and at times some serious whining during this hard fought series.

Maybe it's a difference in the two teams and their leadership. Frankly, you haven't heard the Boston Bruins doing this much talking.

Obviously I follow the Boston Bruins and I haven't watched the Capitals enough this season to know if it's their modus operandi or not. Lastly, if the Capitals think they are going to run the Boston Bruins out of the building playing a physical game they are sorely mistaken.That plays right into the Boston Bruins Hands.

Katie Carrera, Capitals Insider --- “You can tell by the way they play and where they go on the ice and where they don’t go on the ice and if they’re rushing off or if they’re on the play. You can definitely tell,” Karl Alzner said. “You’ve just got to — it’s like we said at the beginning of the series — you plant the seed. If it’s mentally with hitting them or getting in their face, or if it’s dumping the puck in every single time, then they start to know — and that’s when you start to take advantage.”

While some injuries are readily apparent — Patrice Bergeron is dealing with an upper-body ailment that likely will prevent him from taking face-offs again in Game 7, Joe Corvo missed Game 6 after taking a puck off the leg — others are less visible. Alzner said the Capitals have discussed who they think is hurting and how to put extra pressure on the Bruins in this contest.

“There’s a couple guys I know — and we talked about it — that they’re cheating,” Alzner said. “You can see where they’re cheating, and we’re waiting to for an opportunity to take advantage of it, and you’ve got to wait for that chance. It’s not always there, but sometimes it is, and it’s a fatigue thing. Hopefully you take advantage of it the next game.”

Corvo expects Turris to answer the bell.

The @injuryninja visited the Boston Bruins again as both Joe Corvo and Johnny Boychuck left the game on Saturday night after big hits. The Chris Neil hit on Johnny Boychuck was clean, the Kyle Turris hit on Corvo was a dirty hit that warranted supplemental discipline from the NHL.

True to form the Senior VP of Player Safety and Hockey Operations Brendan Shanahan did nothing again and proved that he is no better than the guy that preceded him. Hell, let's bring back the Colin Campbell Wheel of Justice.

If we learned anything from Shanahan this season,  we have learned that if you're a player that plays for the Boston Bruins or the Minnesota Wild, don't expect the NHL to protect you, because your fair game and the NHL isn't going to do anything a player that takes a run at a player from either team. 

The Boston Bruins now have three to four players on the shelf with post concussion type syndrome. In my opinion, three of the four hits where of questionable and of the dirty variety, lets review the hits, there was the  Tom Sestito hit on Nathan Horton, the sneaky elbow by Hal Gill on  Richard Peverly and of course the elbow by Kyle Turris on Joe Corvo (video embedded above) all questionable hits that should have warranted some kind of supplemental discipline in my opinion., I mean the could have at least humored us and given the offenders the max fine.

This morning while I was reading my twitter feed today I saw this tweet come up today. Apparently, Joe Corvo is expecting Kyle Turris to answer the bell and fight him on Tuesday Night. That ought to be an entertaining slap feast that will be an instant non classic on Youtube.com

Personally, I would rather see Milan Lucic beat Kyle Turris to a pulp so the Boston Bruins can send a mess that it's not acceptable to run one of their players, especially if the League isn't going to protect them.

With all of the talk from the hand wringing puritans that want to  banning fighting in the NHL, lets point out to them, that none of the four players listed above suffered a head injury from a hockey fight, three of the four player were hit and concussed with questionable, dirty checks, that I would classify as bush league and hits that need to be eliminated from the game of hockey.

Related articles

• Kyle Turris hit on Joe Corvo (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• Zdeno Chara vs. Chris Neil (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• Bruins Push Through NHL Failures (bostonwins.wordpress.com)
• Shanahan will not suspend Kyle Turris (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• Kyle Turris Not Suspended For Hit On Joe Corvo (boston.cbslocal.com)
• Turris escapes NHL discipline following head hit (theglobeandmail.com)
• Senators Go Shopping (insidehockey.com)
• Time to Move on from Joe Corvo (insidehockey.com)

Shanahan will not suspend Kyle Turris

Kyle Turris will not be suspended for his hit on Joe Corvo. I think this is the wrong decision and this is the type of hits that need to be eliminated from hockey. I don't know how Shanahan can say that Turris didn't leave his feet. I would like to know what video that Shanny was watching?

Dan Rosen - NHL.com --- Shanahan said Turris told the Department of Player Safety that he slowed down prior to hitting Corvo in order to avoid hitting him in the numbers.

 "We thought that was a good decision," Shanahan said. "He tried to wait until he felt it was going to be a shoulder-to-shoulder check.

" Shanahan said the contact to Corvo's head was made after the Bruins' defenseman opened his left shoulder following his pass. However, Shanahan said the Department of Player Safety did not deem it to be intentional or reckless. He said that Turris' feet were on the ice as he made the hit, but they come off as he's following through on the hit, "almost like he's falling into the boards himself."

"Like some of the suspensions we have had, it wasn't a case of him launching up high into the head," Shanahan added. "All players to a certain degree come off their feet when they drive through a check. That wasn't prior to the hit and he wasn't launching up."

Related articles

• Kyle Turris Not Suspended For Hit On Joe Corvo (boston.cbslocal.com)
• Kyle Turris hit on Joe Corvo (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• Turris escapes NHL discipline following head hit (theglobeandmail.com)

Kyle Turris hit on Joe Corvo

Here is the video of former Wisconsin Badger and current Ottawa Senators forward Kyle Turris' questionable and dirty hit on Boston Bruins defenseman Joe Corvo. There is no excuse for this types of hits and these are the types of hits that need to be removed from the game of hockey.

There is no way to defend this hit and Kyle Turris needs to sit for a minimum of 2-3 games for this bush league hit.

Zdeno Chara vs. Chris Neil

This fight was a direct result of Chris Neils hit on the Boston Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk earlier in the game. From reviewing the video, I think the play was a "borderline" charging call. [click to view video of hit].

It was not a good day for Boston Bruins defensemen as Johnny Boychuk and Joe Corvo were both left the game and didn't return.

Both Boychuk and Corvo made the bus and were on the flight’s manifest. Julien figures both will be OK. Boychuck, he said, got caught with his head down, and was held out for the rest of the game per standard protocol. [Boston Globe]