Canucks fume at ruling

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeAgain more whining from the Vancouver Canucks about the Aaron Rome suspension. I say again; imagine if the shoe was on the other foot and Boston Bruins tough guy Shawn Thornton had smoked Ryan Kessler, Alex Burrows or one of the Sedin sisters twins at the blue line with a questionable check? Would they not expect the same kind of a ruling from the NHL?

Matthew Sekere; Globe and Mail ---- The Vancouver Canucks were furious with the four-game suspension handed down by the NHL to defenceman Aaron Rome Tuesday.

One day after head coach Alain Vigneault and captain Henrik Sedin admitted Rome's hit on Boston Bruins forward Nathan Horton was late, the Canucks were singing a different tune, more defiant in their characterization of the hit, and outraged at the league.

And there’s good reason for that. Several of them, in fact.

For starters was Mike Murphy’s admission that he consulted with Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke, a former NHL disciplinarian, before arriving at his decision. The mere mention of Burke’s name elicits anger from the Canucks, because his relationship with team owner Francesco Aquilini is toxic.

There were other reasons: Rome’s despondency at missing the rest of the Stanley Cup final; the stiffest suspension ever administered in the final; and the lack of disciplinary consistency and perceived injustices from earlier this postseason.

If it had stopped at that, there would have been plenty of bad tidings to go around. That Burke was dragged into it only fanned the flames.

General manager Mike Gillis would not comment when asked directly about Burke’s involvement, saying only that “we’re disappointed but we’re moving on.” Reached via text message, Aquilini said he would be making no comment until after the playoffs.

“I'm talking about Brian Burke. I don't like to mention people who I deal with,” Murphy said in a press conference. “He was one gentleman who I did speak with. There's a lot of other people I spoke with, too, not just Brian.”

Canucks: 'We thought it was a clean hit'

Image via WikipediaBut of course they see nothing wrong with the hit that sent Nathan Horton to the hospital and ended his season. What a buffoon... I wounder if the tables had been turned; say that one of the Sedin sisters twins had been injured with a illegal hit like Horton was; I can't imagine the whining we would hear from the Vancouver Cancucks fan base, but also from the Canucks front office and their coaching staff.

While there is no winners in this incident, the Canucks got the better end of this deal, the Canucks lose a mediocre defenseman from their third defense paring while the Bruins lose one of their best forwards from the top line it's hardly a fair trade off in my opinion, I believe the four game suspension is about right. 

BOSTON -- The Vancouver Canucks disagree with the NHL's decision to suspend Aaron Rome for the rest of the Stanley Cup Final for his tardy hit on Nathan Horton that left the Boston winger with a concussion.

"It was a little bit late, but anybody that's played this game knows that you have to make a decision in a fraction of a second," Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said. "He's engaged in the hit. I don't know how the League could come up with that decision really."

NHL Senior V.P. of Hockey Operations Mike Murphy made the call to suspend Rome for four games after talking to the Canucks defenseman Tuesday morning. Rome, who was issued a five-minute major for interference and a game misconduct 5:07 into the first period of Game 3, is done for the Stanley Cup Final, and if the series ends early his suspension will carry over into the 2011-12 season.

Related articles

• Aaron Rome Suspended Four Games, Will Miss Remainder Of Stanley Cup Finals (sbnation.com)
• Stanley Cup Finals: What to Expect from the Vancouver Canucks in Game 4 (bleacherreport.com)
• Nathan Horton Injury Will Keep Him Out For Rest Of Stanley Cup Finals (sbnation.com)
• Bruins' Horton out of Stanley Cup final with severe concussion (thestar.com)

Vancouver’s Aaron Rome has been suspended for four games

This is the right decision by the NHL, what troubles me is that I have seen Canucks fans defending the hit.

BOSTON— Bruins forward Nathan Horton will miss the rest of the Stanley Cup finals with a severe concussion after he absorbed a blindside hit from Canucks defenceman Aaron Rome during Game 3 on Monday night.

Horton had just passed the puck when Rome came at him, lowered his shoulder and flattened him – the kind of hit the NHL has tried to eliminate after several players sustained severe concussions. The 26-year-old Horton left Boston’s 8-1 victory on a stretcher and was taken to a hospital.

The NHL is scheduled to hold a disciplinary hearing with Rome at 11 a.m. on Tuesday. Horton has eight goals and nine assists this postseason for Boston, which trails 2-1 heading into Game 4 on Wednesday night. The Bruins updated Horton’s condition in a release Tuesday morning.

.

Nathan Horton done for the playoffs.

Boston Bruins forward Nathan Horton is done for the remainder of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals after this vicious hit by Canucks defenseman Aaron Rome. According to the Canucks coach the hit was a little late. Yeah, oh, ok…

Eric Duhatschek; Globe and Mail --- To the surprise of no one who watched him wheeled off the ice on a stretcher early in Monday's 8-1 Boston Bruins' victory over the Vancouver Canucks, forward Nathan Horton will not play again in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Bruins announced Tuesday morning. General manager Peter Chiarelli confirmed that Horton suffered a severe concussion in the third game of the Stanley Cup series after a hit by Canuck defenseman Aaron Rome.


After the play, Rome was assessed a five minute major for interferenceand a game misconduct. The NHL will hold a disciplinary hearing with Rome on Tuesday morning to discuss the play.

"It was a blindside hit that we've talked about taking out of the game," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "He made the pass. It was late. He came from the blindside. Whether it's through the motion of the hit, it appeared he left his feet a little bit.

Canucks coach Alain Vigneault is dillusional...

Image by Getty Images via @daylife
I don't think the Vancouver Canucks are going to get off Scott free this time. Aaron Rome hit Boston Bruins forward Nathan Horton in the head with with his elbow and knocked Horton out cold. The hit was also late.

Jeff Howe; NESN ---- Without actually saying it, Canucks coach Alain Vigneault tried to portray a message to the NHL that Aaron Rome's vicious hit on Nathan Horton was not worthy of a suspension.

Rome blindsided Horton early in the first period. Horton was taken off the ice in a stretcher and transported to Massachusetts General Hospital with a head injury. Vigneault knew the hit was late, but he tried to lobby for Rome, who will have a hearing with the NHL at 11 a.m. Tuesday.

"We'll let the league deal with that, but that hit was a head-on hit, [Horton] looking at his pass, [and the hit] was a little bit late," Vigneault said. "I don't think that's the hit that the league is trying to take out of the game. This is a physical game. You've got big guys, a fraction of a second to decide what is happening out there. It's very unfortunate. You never want to see that, but this is a physical game."

Rome lined up Horton as he entered the Vancouver zone without the puck. Rome planted his skates, launched himself at Horton and elevated his shoulder into Horton's head. Horton also hit his head on the ice when he fell, and he lay nearly motionless for several minutes.

Rome received a five-minute major and a game misconduct.

Related articles

• Video: Horton leaves game on stretcher after late Vancouver hit (thestar.com)
• Vancouver Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault can finally tell Sedin twins apart (thehockeynews.com)
• Boston Bruins Give 'Game Jacket' To Hospitalized Nathan Horton (sbnation.com)
• Cox: Dirty hit on Bruins' Horton turns final on its head (thestar.com)

Aaron Rome's hit on Nathan Horton

In watching this hit on replay, you can see that the hit in question was at least three strides too late, Aaron Rome left his feet to hit Horton in the head, it was a very dirty hit. There is no way you can defend this hit, Aaron Rome needs to be suspended by the NHL. I am all for big hits but this was unacceptable. In my opinion it's a violation of the NHL Rule 48.

Related articles

• Bruins Vs. Canucks, Game 3: Aaron Rome Hits Nathan Horton, Gets Ejected (sbnation.com)
• Video: Bruins' Nathan Horton out after hit by Canucks' Aaron Rome (aol.sportingnews.com)
• Video: Aaron Rome's dirty hit on Nathan Horton overshadows a scoreless first period in Game 3 (prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com)
• VIDEO: Aaron Rome Hits Nathan Horton Really Hard, Illegally In Canucks-Bruins Game 3 (sbnation.com)
• Bruins Vs. Canucks, Game 3 Score: First Period Scoreless, Aaron Rome Hit On Nathan Horton The Story (sbnation.com)

Stanley Cup Preview

Image by Getty Images via @daylife 2011 STANLEY CUP PREVIEW

Keys for Vancouver: the sedin twins finally stepped their game up in the semis vs the sharks and they are going to be needed big time for them to win the cup. the play of ryan kesler in these playoffs has been amazing you could say he is the best two-way forward in the league. kevin bieska stepped up big time as well vs sharks and he showed some offensive skills even though he's known more for his defensive skills. they are going to need to involve thier defenseman again in this series because they will want to get shots from the point that can be tipped past thomas off deflections because that has been working well for them throughout the playoffs.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Ryan Kesler and Alexander Burrows

Keys for Boston: the B's are going to need their first line of horton, Lucic, and krecji to keep on rolling for them to win this stanley cup. I believe that chara will be a big problem for the sedins and the pairing of him and seidenberg has been the best D pairing in the playoffs. they also need to clear the front of the net for tim thomas, who has been the best goalie in the playoffs so far and he made the save of the year on that purcell shot in the last series vs Tampa Bay. what more can you say about Horton in these playoffs? two game 7 winners so far and i believe that he is hungry for that stanley cup after all those losing years as a panther. the b's need to continue to activate their defensman in the offensive zone and let them rip shots from the point and let their big men like ryder and lucic get deflections and rebounds out front.
Players TO WATCH: Zdeno Chara and Milan Lucic

Prediction: I believe that the Boston Bruins will win in 7 games because of the play of tim thomas and Chara who have been the best goalie and defenseman in these playoffs. it should be an epic series and i don't think the sedin twins and crew will go down easily.

Horton and Thomas lead the Bruins to the Stanley Cup Finals...

The Boston Bruins are off to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1990. I think one could say that game seven between the Boston Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning will go down as an instant classic, tonight's game was also not for the faint of heart as both teams skated up and down the ice exchanging chances on the opposition's net.

Both goalies Dwayne Roloson and Tim Thomas were stellar and Nathan Horton scored the only goal (8th of the Stanley Cup Playoffs) at the 12:27 mark of the third period and then Tim Thomas and the Boston Bruins defense held on for the win as Tampa Bay had a few good chances to even the score.

* The Bruins outshot the Lightning 38-24...
*  The Boston Bruins are 11-10 all-times in Game 7s
*  Tim Thomas had two shutouts during the ECF Finals.  
*  There were two players in their 40's playing in this series Recchi 43 Roloson 41.
* Two of the three Vezina finalist are in the Stanley Cup Finals.

This is what Tim Thomas had to say after the game... 

"I think a lot of people thought I was over the hill,"' said the 37-year-old Thomas, a Vezina Trophy finalist who was sidelined throughout last year's playoffs. "I knew it wasn't true. I put in a lot of work over the summer and I've had an unbelievable year. I've been blessed."

Update --- No punishment for Bruins' Horton

Image by slidingsideways via FlickrNathan Horton will not be suspended or disciplined by the NHL, nor in my opinion should he be. According to James Murphy of ESPN Boston, there will be no punishment for Boston Bruins forward Nathan Horton who squirted water and then threw the water bottle at a Tampa Bay fan at that was sitting behind the Boston Bruins players bench at the end of game six.

James Murphy; ESPN Boston ---- As the Boston Bruins skated off the ice following their 5-4 loss in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals, the Tampa Bay Lightning fans at St. Pete's Forum peppered the ice and some Bruins with the hand-clapper instruments they were given by the Lightning for the game. Apparently the frustration over the loss and the fans' actions got to Bruins winger Nathan Horton, who sprayed a heckling fan and then threw his water bottle at the fan as he walked down the runway to the dressing room.

While the NHL doesn't like to see such actions by players, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told ESPNBoston.com late Thursday afternoon that "no action is being contemplated" by the league.

"There is no way to substantiate what may or may not have happened," Daly said.

Horton's agent also confirmed that no actions would be taken by the league in response to Horton's actions, which videos posted on YouTube appear to confirm.

I actually find it funny that some of the big time sports pundits had feigned so much anger over this minor situation; did they really expect the NHL to suspend a player based on some home movie that was on YouTube? I am sure we will see the conspiracy theorist come out and tell us that since Collin Campbell’s son plays for the Bruins that is the reason the NHL didn’t suspend Nathan Horton.

Related articles

• No punishment for Bruins' Horton in fan spat (sports.espn.go.com)
• VIDEO: Bruins' Nathan Horton Sprays Tampa Bay Lightning Fan With Water Bottle (sbnation.com)
• Horton Squirts Water at Tampa Fans (thebostonsportslist.com)
• Bruins Vs. Lightning, Game 5: Nathan Horton's Persistence Pays Off In Boston Win (sbnation.com)

Will the Bruins Horton be suspended for squirting a fan?

This is the main reason you don't give away things to fans is because they can end up back on the ice at the end of the game, this was a horrible move by the Tampa Bay Lightning. If you didn't see the end of the game last night this was an ugly scene. At the end of the game between the Boston Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning, thousands of noise makers were being tossed on the ice by the jubilant Lightning fans, by the video you can see that Bruins forward David Krejci was pelted numerous times with the noise makers while leaving the ice, you can also see from the video that Krejci was obviously agitated by being struck by the noise makers. This is unacceptable in my opinion.

Apparently there was some other bad behavior and the buzz around the internet today (every major blog is talking about it) is that Boston Bruins forward Nathan Horton sprayed a Tampa Bay fan and then threw a water bottle at him while leaving the bench on his way to the Bruins locker room after the game. Some think this is ill advised and unacceptable act by Horton is worthy of a one game suspension, it might be,  because the coach of the New York Rangers John Tortorella was suspended for spraying a fan. We'll see how the NHL reacts in this situation.

Nathan Horton's Hit On Steve Downie

I honestly can’t fault the referee from his perspective, the ref in his opinion believed Steve Downie embellished his fall after being hit into the boards by Bruins forward Nathan Horton late in the second period of last night’s game, calling the Tampa Bay Lightning wing Hack Steve Downie for diving. Apparently, after further review Uber Hack Downie wasn’t faking, in fact Downie never returned to the game and is listed as day-to-day.

To be honest with you, I feel no empathy what-so-ever for Steve Downie because in my opinion he is one of the dirtiest players in the NHL. Seriously! I honestly can’t imagine anyone even caring. How many games has this clown/buffoon been suspended by the NHL/AHL in his short career? Reviewing the Steve Downie hit parade he stared out his NHL career by receiving a 20 game suspension for a dirty hit on Dean McAmmond in an exhibition game… Steve Downie followed up that smooth move with a 20- game suspension for slashing an AHL official.

Hey I admit that while the call was probably a reputation call and the wrong call, I believe that Downie has earned his reputation based on his actions on the ice, maybe if he just clean up his act, he might get the benefit of the doubt once in a while. I say whatever, you earned it Steve, you live by the sword, you die by the sword.

Sean O'Donnell vs Nathan Horton

You don’t see as many fights during NHL Stanley Cup as you do during the regular season because of the instigator rule, but down by a few goals and trying to spark his team Sean O'Donnell started a fight with Nathan Horton. If you look at this way, it was a smart move by the veteran Sean O'Donnell because he takes a more skilled player off the ice with him.

They Said what? A couple of quotes...

Breaking sports news video. MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL highlights and more.

I think this is a good explanation of how a lot of Bruins fans including me feel about show boat and the ever-so-cocky P.K. Subban. Let me be clear, the kid is an amazing talent that God has blessed with amazing athletic ability, however, it does appear that the good Lord given him a two cent brain... P.K. Subban yaps and runs his mouth all game long and then runs and hides behind the refs and turtles when called to the carpet. My advice to the young man is that not everyone is impressed with your antics, less theatrics and more hockey, lets see more highlight goals like the one above, but act like you been there before.

Montreal Gazette --- Montreal defenceman P.K. Subban, who may be the most disliked man in Boston, sent the game into overtime when he scored a power-play goal at 18:23 of the third period.

Subban, who was described by one Boston writer as “a puck, a whiner and a diver,” scored on a shot from the point after Patrice Bergeron went off for high-sticking James Wisniewski.

Damien Cox from the Star had an interesting perspective of how the Bruins "beat" the Montreal Canadian this season. I would say that his point of view is from a Canadian and not someone covering the Boston Bruins. Reading this you would have thought the Boston Bruins were a bunch of ruffians or goons.

Just a year ago, the Habs were money in seventh games, upsetting Washington and Pittsburgh. But in the same way the Blackhawks tied Game 7 against Vancouver late in regulation but lost in overtime, the Habs forced OT Wednesday on a late goal by P.K. Subban, but were then vanquished in the extra session by Nathan Horton’s slapshot goal that was redirected past Carey Price for a 4-3 Boston win.

This, after everything that happened between the Habs and Bruins in the past two months, will be a bitter pill for the Canadiens and their legions of fans to swallow. Not only were they eliminated by Boston, the Habs were brutalized by the Bruins all season.

It started with the controversial Zdeno Chara hit on Max Pacioretty, included one brawl-filled contest, continued into the sixth game of this series with Milan Lucic’s vicious hit on Jaroslav Spacek and in Game 7 included Andrew Ference’s dirty headshot on Jeff Halpern that went unpenalized.

The Bruins did this year what the Caps couldn’t last year, and that was use their superior size to bully the smallish Habs.

montreal canadiens tickets

Sunday Links....

Redwing77's favorite TV Sports personality, NESN play by play announcer Jack Edwards with the call of the Boston Bruins game winning goal by Nathan Horton against the Habs in the second over time.

There is no question that Capitals Defenseman Mike Green is tough, all I can say is ouch, check out the video of Green taking a puck to the head/face vs the Rangers... You can see pieces of his helmet exploding. [Click to view]

The CBC Hockey Night in Canada Hot Stove; the The panel discusses the possible relocation of the Phoenix Coyotes. Screw the players that don't want to play in Winnipeg. [Click to watch]

Boston Bruins head coach Claude Julien says that Boston Bruins goalie Tim Thomas deserves to win the Vezina trophy, I agree, without a great season from Tim Thomas the Boston Bruins would have been a middle of the road team in the North East Division... I have heard all of the arguments about all of the various goalies around the NHL that played well this season but Thomas has a very, very good season... Do you think the Chicago Blackhawks are impressed with Roberto Luongo right now? Who would you rather have back stopping your team right now?[Click to view]


Last night former Fighting Sioux and current Anaheim Ducks forward Jason Blake scored two hard working goals against the Nashville Predators. Jason Blake's two goals last night brought back memories of Jason Blake and his days with the Sioux. Jason Blake was a work horse when he was with the Sioux, he was compared to the Energizer Bunny because he never quit working hard and he never game up around the net. [goal number two]

Miscellaneous Transactions around the League (RW77)

I'll leave the Bruins commentary to Goon, but I thought I'd report on the latest transactions around the league.

The big blockbuster today was that the Bruins traded away Defenseman Denis Wideman, their first round (15th overall) pick in this weekend's draft, and their 2011 third round pick to the Florida Panthers for star winger Nathan Horton and center Greg Campbell.

--> Reading around, the take on this trade is mixed. Some say that Chiarelli took Tallon to the bank. Others say it was a decent trade. I'm not sure. It really comes down to, imo, Campbell vs. the 15th overall pick (or you could argue that the pick was direct compensation for Horton and Wideman lines up with Campbell). Greg Campbell is an unknown to me, other than his stats show he's not much of an offensive center. If he's solid defensively, I think that will be good for the Bruins. What do you think, Goon?

Goon's Take: With Deni Wideman being traded to the Florida Panthers, the Bruins get rid of an offensive puck moving defenseman that was seen by some to be a defensive liability, to me personally Wideman was a brutal reminder of the bad Denis Wideman for Brad Boyes trade. By trading the 15th over all pick away the Bruins will not have their second first round draft choice that they were hording all of last season.

Nathan Horton has played in five NHL season and has never scored less than 20 goals. The Bruins need offense up front and Horton will probably play on one of the top three lines. Gregory Campbell is a bit of an unknown and from what I have read is more of the rugged type forward that will drop the gloves if he needs to. Campbell's last fight was against Av's hack/goon Cody McLeod.

The other trades weren't as noteworthy.

Minnesota acquired Brad Staubitz from San Jose for their 5th round pick in this weekend's draft.

--> I actually think this is a good move. Fletcher and crew need to rebuild fast. Late rounders could take longer to develop (and may not develop at all) than those taken in the first three rounds. Staubitz isn't a glamorous player. However, he is a pretty gritty defenseman and had over 100 PIM last season.

New Jersey reacquires Jason Arnott from Nashville for Matt Halischuk and their 2011 2nd round pick.

--> I have misgivings about this trade. I think if this trade was Arnott for Halischuk straight up, it would be a good deal for both sides. If the pick had been a lower pick, such as a 4th or even a 3rd rounder, I think it would have been ok. I think Halischuk and a 2nd round pick is too much for an aging Arnott, despite the fact that he did pretty well last year and he has shown great leadership on and off the ice.

Philadelphia and Nashville exchange young D -Ryan Parent for the rights to Dan Hamhuis

--> I think this is probably the most even trade out there. Good for both sides.

Former Michigan standout TJ Hensick is now a St. Louis Blues. Colorado gets AHLer Julian Talbot

--> TJ Hensick hasn't done much in limited time in the NHL. He came on fast and then swooned like nobody's business. He did come off his best year as an AHLer though. Who knows which direction Hensick will go. Colorado gets an unknown. The best part? Over the past 3 seasons, Talbot's AHL numbers have been steadily decreasing. So, who cares. Colorado is declared the loser in this trade and that's ok by me. They re-signed Peter Budaj so karma's a biznitch.

Already talked about the Halak trade.

In other news: San Jose has decided NOT to even attempt to re-sign goaltender Evgeni Nabokov. I think he'll probably end up in either Montreal or Washington.

Also, Future Hall of Famers Rob Blake and Scott Niedermeyer retired.