Former NCAA Players in the Stanley Cup Final

With the help of College Hockey INC. we have our list of former NCAA Division I players in the Stanley Cup Final.

San Jose Sharks (6 former NCAA players)

7 – Paul Martin – Minnesota (2000-03)
(0g-5a—5pts)

8 – Joe Pavelski – Wisconsin (2004-06)
(13g-9a—22pts)

57 – Tommy Wingels – Miami (2007-10)
(2g-0a—2pts)

61 – Justin Braun – Massachusetts (2006-10)
(0g-4a—4pts)

80 – Matt Tennyson – Western Michigan (2009-12)
Hasn’t played yet

83 – Matt Nieto – Boston University (2010-13)
(1g-2a—3pts)

Pittsburgh Penguins (15 former NCAA players)

4 – Justin Schultz, D – Wisconsin (2009-12)
(0g-2a—2pts)

7 – Matt Cullen, F – St. Cloud State (1995-97)
(4g-2a—6pts)

8 – Brian Dumoulin, D – Boston College (2009-12)
(1g-6sa—7pts)

11 – Kevin Porter, F – Michigan (2004-08)
Hasn’t played yet

12 – Ben Lovejoy, D – Dartmouth (2004-07), Boston College (2002-03)
(1g-3a—4pts)

13 – Nick Bonino, F – Boston University (2007-10)
(3g-12a—15pts)

14 – Chris Kunitz, F – Ferris State (1999-2003)
(4g-6a—10pts)

17 – Bryan Rust, F – Notre Dame (2010-14)
(5g-3a—8pts)

19 – Beau Bennett, F – Denver (2010-12)
(0g-0a-0—pts)

23 – Scott Wilson – UMass Lowell (2011-14)
Hasn’t played yet.

28 – Ian Cole, D – Notre Dame (2007-10)
(0g-2a—2pts)

37 – Jeff Zatkof, G – Miami (2005-08)
(1-1, 3.08 GAA, .908 save percentage)

43 – Conor Sheary, F – Massachusetts (2010-14)
(2g-5a—7pts)

62 – Carl Hagelin, F – Michigan (2007-11)
(5g-7a—12pts)

81 – Phil Kessel, F – Minnesota (2006-07)
Penguins leasing scorer (9g-9a—18pts)

UPDATE:Blackhawks Take Game 5 Thanks to Vermette and the Biggest Gaff in Bishop's Playing Career

by Redwing77

Ok, before I get to what is probably the #1 play in Sportcenter's NOT Top 10, the Chicago Blackhawks now can take the Cup at home with a win in Game 6.

They looked A LOT like the Lightning did earlier in the series, taking it to Tampa right out of the game (Tampa did the same to Chicago in pretty much every game this series up until then really).  Bishop was great for most of the game, stymieing Kane and Teravainnen twice (both breakaways).

In any case, I think Chicago dominated for the first and much of the third periods while Tampa controlled the second.  The officiating was much like typical NHL Playoffs: pretty non-existent.  They let a TON of stuff go, but it didn't really matter.

Tampa's sole goal came from former Red Wing Valterri Filpula on a great backdoor one-timer Crawford had zero chance on.

A slightly humorous note was when Hawk forward Desjardins was hit so hard he broke open the Hawk penalty box door.

In the end, there were LONG stretches of whistle-free hockey that was entertaining to say the least.

The Play

Ok, here's the deal:  the puck is sent off the boards past Terovainen through the neutral zone into the TB zone.  TB's Hedman and CHI's Sharp give chase.  For some extremely stupid reason, Bishop goes full moron and decides, despite Hedman obviously having the inside track on Sharp to the puck, that he is going to come out and play the puck out near the faceoff circle... WHOOOOPS!!!!!!!  Hedman and Bishop collide and Sharp scores the easiest goal of his career....the first in 14 games.

It was simply epic how stupid it was.  It wasn't the game-winner, but it was simply something you would never expect even a halfway competent goaltender to do.

In any case, when Goon is able, he'll help me embed the video I'm sure.

I apologize.

No need to apologize Redwing77, thanks for adding this post. I listened to the game on my XM radio and this the first time that I saw this goal. My first response is woof. Bishop cost his team the game with a low percentage play.

UPDATE:

Here's the video!

Johnny Toews with the Cup

Toews kissing The Cup pic.twitter.com/CfYHe89ZRe
— JRoads ™ (@JRoadsreal) July 19, 2013

s/t @JRoadsreal awesome picture. Too bad it wasn't in Grand Forks, ND. This is the second cup that Toews has won with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Patrice Bergeron humor compared to soccer

.@SoccerrProblems Patrice Bergeron. pic.twitter.com/zaszIXBh5o
— The Hockey Gods (@HockeyGods) July 19, 2013

This tweet was very funny. Although, it's very true when describing hockey players.

Related articles

• SCF Game four: Patrice Bergeron first goal of the game (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• Bruins Sign Patrice Bergeron To 8-Year Extension (conversehockey.wordpress.com)
• Bruins Sign Patrice Bergeron to Eight-Year Contract Extension (nesn.com)

Fandom: blurring the lines

Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews during a game against the Vancouver Canucks at GM Place on November 22, 2009. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

At the Beginning of the Stanley Cup Finals, after the Blackhawks qualified for the Stanley Cup Finals, I told my wife that no one in this house hold wears a Jonathan Toews t-shirt or a Chicago Blackhawks t-shirt during entirety of the Stanley Cup Finals.  My wife looked at me and said, “you can’t be serious.” I told her, “I was dead serious.”  I continued on with my rant, I don’t care if he went to UND or not, I am Boston Bruins fan, blah, blah, blah…. Nonetheless, that wish was honored. The fact that no one ever wore one of the t-shirts in question was probably a pure accident, or a divine intervention, because my wife takes orders from no one.

I even considered deleting the song Chelsea Dagger from my iPod. Before I did anything rash, I regained my senses, when I realized that I was in fact allowed to keep that song on my iPod.

I had an epiphany, and it dawned on me. Of course, I can keep Chelsea Dagger on my iPod, because whenever the UND hockey team scores a goal, the song Chelsea Dagger is played over the Ralph Engelstad Arena’s loud speakers. Disaster was avoided, for at least that moment.

Just for the record, last season, Chelsea Dagger was played 71 times at Ralph Engelstad Arena, s/t to Jayson Hajdu.  So, I had a reprieve.  My daughter is also a big fan of the song as well. Somehow, my five year old daughter also knows who Jonathan Toews is as well and she seemed to be talking about him a lot during the Stanley Cup Finals, I am sure she had some coaching, from someone. I am not sure who is to blame.

Last night, before I went out for a bike ride, before I left, I was looking for a t-shirt to put on and I just couldn’t bring myself to slip any of the aforementioned shirts on at the present time. Not now, maybe later.  I just wasn’t up to it right now. The wounds are still fresh. I know, I know, as a UND alumnus, I am supposed to be happy for Toews winning his second Stanley Cup, but his team just beat my favorite NHL team. I am still in a state of mourning.

Yay, good for him, but he was part of the enemy for two weeks.

While riding my bike last night, I began to percolate for the subject of this blog post, I thought of an article that also inspired me as well that is worth reading.  It’s a good article written by Ian Cameron McLaren, one of my colleagues from the Hockey Writers.

Ian Cameron McLaren, ScoreNation – First, let’s talk about why things are the way they are.

This past week, Jeff Marek made an interesting point on the MvsW podcast that speaks to the divisive nature of sports fandom. His basic premise was that sports marketing and culture is set up to create and “us vs them” mentality, and that this is expressed most clearly in the use of “(Blank) Nation” or “(Blank) Army” to describe a fan base. What this does is establish a mobilization of the fans wherein we feel as though we are actually part of the battle, so to speak. We follow and support the cause of our favorite teams, and feel intimately linked to the outcomes that befall them. If they win, we take to the streets to celebrate; if they lose, we feel like our home and native land has been invaded and pillaged, leaving us wander aimlessly until the battle picks up again.

The fallacy here, of course, is that what will be, will be, regardless of how we personally feel about the team in question. Our attachments to our teams are mostly peripheral, in the sense that we likely have no personal knowledge of or attachment to the actual people who are playing the game. We pay money for tickets, jerseys and cable packages, investing in war bonds if you will, but we don’t affect the outcomes of the games, Bartman notwithstanding. 

Again, regardless of what happens, it’s not a reflection of who we are personally; if they win, we cheer but the accolades are not ours, and if we lose, it stinks but the failure is also not really ours.

Think about this, we have no “affect” on the outcomes of favorite team’s games. No matter what jersey we wear to the games or what we eat meal we eat in our pre-game meals, we have no “affect” on the outcomes of favorite teams games. None! Zero!

Although, looking back, former UND hockey players from the past will talk about how the amazing the fan following was, while they were in Grand Forks playing for UND. So, that could be up for some debate.

But I digress.

While we might be unhappy that our favorite team lost a game, division, or championship, those losses are not ours. These losses belong to our favorite teams, they own them. We’re just along for the ride, but sometimes that ride can be pretty awesome.

On November 19, 2011, while covering the UND hockey team for Inside Hockey, UND was playing the Bemidji State Beavers at the Sanford Center in Bemidji, Minnesota. While finding my assigned seat in the press box, I came across a beat up practice puck that was sitting where my laptop was going to sit in the BSU press box. There it was, just sitting there in the press box, so I put the puck in my bag.

Coming into the series against the Beavers, UND was mired in a 3-6-1 slump. UND would leave the series and the Sanford Center with a series split and a 4-7-1 season record.

That beat up hockey puck would travel with me in my backpack, to and from the arena for the rest of the season. From that weekend forward, the UND hockey team would go 22-6-2. With puck in toe, UND would win its third Final Five championship in a row, before losing in the NCAA West Regional championship at the Xcel Energy Center the week later.

After the season was over, I contemplated keeping the good luck puck in my bag for the 2012-13 season.  The puck has since been retired; it sits in my dresser at home.  I know the puck played no part in the UND’s success that season, but I didn’t want to upset the apple cart and I am very superstitious. I don’t like to even golf without the correct number of balls and tees in my pocket.

Think a lot of us even though we might just be fans or bloggers, we still get wrapped up in our favorite team’s success and failures and feel it, when they lose their last game of the season.

Since 2000, I have only had one of my favorite team’s win its final game of the year that resulted in a championship once, and that team was the Boston Bruins, who won the 2011 Stanley Cup in seven games over the Vancouver Canucks.

So, since 2000, I have only had one favorite team of mine win it all, and more times than not, these favorite teams of mine (UND hockey, Vikings, Boston Bruins) have had their seasons  ended in defeat, many times in the early rounds of the playoffs, when they were the heavy favorites.

In conclusion, while we might just be fans, our favorite teams play a very big part of our lives, even if the games are only an escape from the reality of our boring lives.  It is what it is. 

(Video) 2013 SCF: Brent Seabrook's game winning goal

At the 09:51 mark of the overtime period, the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Boston Bruin 6-5 to tie the series and send it back to Chicago for Saturday night's game five.... Coming into the game, the Boston Bruins "had" killed off 26 straight power plays in a row.

For the Series, the Blackhawks were 0/11 on the power play coming into game four. I guess you could say that something had to give. So, game four, the Chicago Blackhawks finally scored on the power play. So, now the Blackhawks are now an unimpressive 1/15 on the power play, for the Stanley Cup Finals. The Boston Bruins went 2-5 tonight on the power play and are now 4/14 on the power play during the Stanley Cup Finals.

Brent Seabrook scored the winning goal in overtime as the Blackhawks defeated the Bruins, 6-5 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.
— Boston Globe Bruins (@GlobeBruins) June 20, 2013

Jonathan Toews OT winner #GoalFace (req @jimhammerand) http://t.co/HVd2kc3vX5
— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) June 20, 2013

Marian Hossa out for game three against the Bruins

Never boring in the leadup to a Stanley Cup Final game. However, this news on Hossa thickens the plot more than most.
— Dan Rosen (@drosennhl) June 18, 2013

This is some interesting and shocking news... Marian Hossa is out for game three of the Stanley Cup Finals. Former B.C. Eagle forward Ben Smith takes his place in the line up... Smith has played one game for the Blackhawks this season.

#Blackhawks Ben Smith goes in for late scratch Marian Hossa, who apparently got hurt in warmups
— Pat Leonard (@NYDNRangers) June 18, 2013

Ben Smith in the lineup. Does. Not. Compute. For Boston College B's fans. #WeareBC
— BC Interruption (@bcinterruption) June 18, 2013

Game Day: Game two 2013 Stanley Cup Finals Boston versus Chicago

The Boston Bruins have gotten some good news, Nathan Horton will play in game two, so the Hulk Line will "start" the game in tact. It will be interesting to see how long Horton can go, his shoulder has been messed up during the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Hawks have won 8 of 9, including 3 in OT and 6 straight at home. Bruins have not lost in regulation since Game 6 of the ECQF, 9-2 since.
— Dan Rosen (@drosennhl) June 15, 2013

#Bruins winger Nathan Horton will play in Game 2 of tonight's Stanley Cup Final.
— Spector's Hockey (@SpectorsHockey) June 15, 2013

CHI's Jonathan Toews wins Selke Trophy as NHL's top defensive forward.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) June 14, 2013

Related articles

• 2013 Stanley Cup Finals: Lucic's second goals against the Blackhawks (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Milan Lucic goal vs. Blackhawks (ndgoon.blogspot.com)

2013 Stanley Cup Finals: Triple overtime goal by Chicago's Andrew Shaw; Chicago 4 Boston 3

Game one is in the books... At The 12:08 mark of the third overtime period of game one of the Stanley Cup Finals, Chicago Forward Andrew Shaw scored the game winning goal against the Boston Bruins.

Congrats to our 5 winners. Sorry if you didn't win a free T. But, you can buy them for charity and say you won. bucciovertimechallenge.com
— John Buccigross (@Buccigross) June 13, 2013

2013 Stanley Cup Finals: Lucic's second goals against the Blackhawks

At the 0:51 mark of the second period, the Hulk Line struck again. Boston Bruins forward, Milan Lucic scored his second goal of the game, his fifth goal of the Stanley Cup Finals, to push the Boston Bruins to a 2-0 lead, assisting on the goal was David Krejci.

That 2-0 lead was short lived as the Chicago Blackhawks would get a goal from Bradon Saad at the 03:08 mark of the second period.

Bruins' top line of Lucic-Krejci-Horton has combined for 56 points this postseason.
— Joe McDonald (@ESPNJoeyMac) June 13, 2013

Patrick Kane's Hat Trick sends the Black Hawks to the Stanley Cup Finals

And then there were two. You can bet that the 6'9" Zdeno Chara will be glued to Patrick Kane during the Stanley Cup Finals. You can also bet that "the little ball of hate" Brad Marchand will be in Jonathan Toews grill, much like Henrik Zetterberg was during the second round the playoffs.

So, here's how the Stanley Cup Finals shake out. Boston Bruins 28-14-6 regular season, 12-4 playoffs vs Chicago Blackhawks 36-7-5 regular season, 12-5 playoffs... Game one kicks off on Wednesday Night at 7:00 p.m. at the Mad House on Madison.

Schedule for the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals

So, it could be almost July before the 2013 season is over, thanks to the lockout. All times will be 7:00 pm Central Standard time for us living in the Midwest.

This is what we are going to be missing if there is Lockout...

Just to remind you what you will be missing if the NHL owners lock out the players on September 15, 2012. The past two Stanley Cup Finals were some of the best hockey that I have watched in a very long time - the game of hockey has never been more popular and I think that a work stoppage might cut into those gains that have been made.  The NHL owners made a record 3.3 billion dollars in profit last season.

That being said that most of us understand not all is equal and not all teams enjoy these same profits - but it's the owners that have signed these players to these exuberant salaries and I hold them culpable for the mess that we are in. I hope everyone has a great and safe Labor Day holiday.

Got my annual must read "The Hockey News Yearbook".202 awesome pages. Top 50 players in the NHL list and not one owner made the cut.
— Allan Walsh (@walsha) September 2, 2012

Monday Links - hockey almost over for the summer.

There are a few stories of interest today on the internet about Stanley Cup Finals.

There is one thing that we know – the Stanley Cup Playoffs are going to last one or two more games and then the NHL will be in full summer mode. This season Stanley Cup Finals has been one of the most uneventful playoff series in a very long time. There has been nothing in the way of big hits that need extra scrutiny or villains like the Canucks Alex Burrows that need to be vilified.

Can Devils captain Zach Parise heat up?

After checking in with seven goals and 14 points in the first 17 games of this postseason, the production has dropped off for Parise. He doesn't have a point in five games and has a plus-minus rating of minus-five in this stretch.

"Zach's game is so much more than the stat line," Devils coach Peter DeBoer. "He's the heartbeat of our team. He's the identity of our team. He forechecks, he back-checks, he kills penalties, plays in all situations. He really is our barometer. He's the guy that makes us go, whether he's scoring or not. "Again, I don't measure his game on goals and assists. He's creating opportunities. They're eventually going to go in. He's had these type of situations before. It's tough out there right now for anybody to score. But I'm not concerned about his game. I know it's going to come." Parise twisted his left ankle in the third period of Game 4 and briefly missed some time. But he practiced on Friday and will play. DeBoer will not make any changes to his lineup. That means veteran defenceman Henrik Tallinder and forward Petr Sykora will suit up again. [Tim Wharnsby,CBC.CA]

With the win on Saturday night the Devils All-World goalie and future hall of famer added to his already
impressive total. In my opinion Martin Brodeur is one of the best goalie in my lifetime.

Brodeur has won three Stanley Cups, two Olympic gold medals, four Vezina Trophies and a Calder Trophy. He is the only goalie to put together eight 40-win seasons and no netminder has played in more games (1,191), won more (656) and recorded more shutouts (163).

With his victory on Saturday, Brodeur recorded his 17th win in a Stanley Cup final to move into a tie with New York Islanders great Billy Smith on the all-time final wins list.

25 - Jacques Plante, Montreal
24 - Ken Dryden, Montreal
21 - Turk Broda, Toronto
19 - Terry Sawchuk, Detroit (17), Toronto (2)
18 - Patrick Roy, Montreal (10), Colorado (8)
17 - Martin Brodeur, New Jersey; Billy Smith, N.Y. Islanders [Tim Wharnsby,CBC.CA]

Here is a good article by Mark Spector - Kings a distracted team

It would appear that the Phoenix Coyotes are going to be staying in Glendale, Arizona. I know, I know, we have heard this one before – it will be interesting to see how this story plays out and if the Yotes are finally going to stay in Phoenix area.

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Phoenix Coyotes' long wait for an owner might finally be over.

Glendale's City Council approved a 20-year lease agreement for Jobing.com Arena on Friday, clearing the last major hurdle in the sale of the Coyotes to a group led by former San Jose Sharks CEO Greg Jamison.

The council ratified the 20-year, nearly $325 million agreement by a 4-2 vote after a sometimes-contentious six-hour meeting attended by Jamison, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly.

"We've been doing this a long time," Bettman said. "We believe this team, the Coyotes, can be here with a new ownership in place and should be here."

One of the questions facing the Kings and Devils is fatigue - Kings Fighting Fatigue, as Well as Devils

Apparently Jaromir Jagr is coming back for another season in the NHL and is close to resigning with the Flyers...

The New Jersey Devils Power Less Play went 0-15 before Parise scored on Saturday night for the Devils to give them a 1-0 lead in game 5.

Stanley Cup finals hot topic: Give 3 reasons why Devils will win Game 6

The New Jersey Devils are still in a tough spot being down three games to two.

Tom Gulitti, Fire and Ice --- “I don’t see any reason why we should be overconfident or satisfied,” Devils captain Zach Parise said. “We’re still down 3-2. We’re still in the same spot we were. One loss and we’re done. I think just having gotten a couple wins, we’re playing with more confidence, but I don’t think that’s making us feel overconfident.

We still know how great of a team they are and how much better we need to play to make this thing even go further.

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]

Related articles

• Vancouver Canucks: Pyrrhic Victory over Boston Bruins as Sami Salo is Injured (bleacherreport.com)
• Canucks top Bruins in Cup rematch (sports.nationalpost.com)
• Schneider to start, Canucks return to Boston to face Bruins (tsn.ca)
• Boston Bruins' Loss Reiterates Discipline Is Their Greatest X-Factor (bleacherreport.com)
• Canucks vs. Bruins Fight Video: Watch Epic Brawl in Stanley Cup Finals Rematch (bleacherreport.com)

Is there a double standard?

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeBruce Dowbiggen from the Globe and Mail has a head scratcher of an article in Sunday's Globe and Mail sports page.

First off  I don't understand why "we need expunge the media images from one of the nastiest Stanley Cup finals in recent memory." I found the Stanley Cup finals to be very entertaining in my opinion an instant classic and the Stanley Cup Finals got pretty decent T.V. rating as well in the USA. What did the media  expect when two teams play each other for 7 games, there are going to be some hurt feelings. It's a shame the two teams don't play more. The Stanley Cup Finals were awesome; the riot in the streets of Vancouver after game 7 not so much.

Second we still have people in Canada more specifically from Montreal, that are still whining about Canadians' punk P.K. Subban being picked on. The problem I see with Subban; while a great NHL talent he is a show boat but he is also a diver as well. In my opinion, Subban would be an awesome Vancouver Canuck the way he embellishes and flails on the ice when he is tapped. It has nothing to do with his ethnic back ground I believe that many people just don't like his antics. Again there are some in hockey that are turning a great sport into European soccer with their embellishment and antics.

NEGATIVE IMAGES

As the NHL hands out its awards in Las Vegas Tuesday, it’ll be looking to expunge the media images from one of the nastiest Stanley Cup finals in recent memory. Most depressing was the image of thousands of young men in Vancouver who seem to have mistaken a riot for a South Park episode. The other was the sight of Boston Bruins rookie Brad Marchand using the head of Hart Trophy finalist Daniel Sedin as a speed bag – to the approval of hockey’s blood culture.

The league can’t do much for the street rioting but it could do something about the latter. Imagine an NBA rookie speed-bagging Dirk Nowitzki’s head going into a timeout or a first-year NFL player hitting Tom Brady in the head repeatedly after the play. What do you think the response would be from those leagues? They’d hammer the kid.

But the NHL stands by as useless as a Vancouver city cop watching his cruiser burn. Better yet, media types – some of whom piously decry fighting – blame Sedin for bruising Marchand’s knuckles and tell Vancouver to wise up and get some tough guys. Hope all the parents with kids in hockey are following this.

DOUBLE STANDARD

One final thought on rookie Marchand: How come when he abuses a superstar he’s applauded by Hockey Night in Canada and the media as a savvy kid who gets under the skin to win. But when Montreal Canadiens rookie P.K. Subban did the same, we were told by the same voices that he was a punk with no respect who needed to be taken down a notch? Is it because Marchand is a Bruin, a sacred squad on Hockey Night, because Sedin is a European or because Marchand is white while Subban is black, or all of the above. Take all the time you need to answer.

Is there a double standard when it comes to P.K. Subban? I don't believe so. What do you think?

Related articles

• VIDEO: Brad Marchand Punches Daniel Sedin, Avoids Retaliation In Canucks-Bruins Game 6 (sbnation.com)
• Thomas, Bruins better than Canucks in every area in Stanley Cup final (thehockeynews.com)

Time to change Rule 48 now!!!

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeWhen I heard about this change yesterday I was very excited, because I am afraid that someone is going to get killed on the ice if these hits are allowed to continue going forward. I think going forward; hits to the players head need to be taken out of NHL hockey. I believe that it’s time the Raffie Torres and Matt Cookes of the world change the way they play the game of hockey.

Before I get told that I am about taking hitting out of the game, I am not, I am all for playing hard nosed physical hockey. I also believe that you can play hard nosed hockey without head hunting. Also, I am all for two willing combatants dropping the gloves and settle things like men, they know the consequences for their actions. It’s also time for the NHL leadership to take these types of hits like the one on Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook out of the game of hockey. If the game of hockey doesn’t change you’re going to have a bunch of drooling ex-hockey players walking around.

BOSTON — National Hockey League general managers will never be accused of moving hastily on the topic of blows to the head, and the Aaron Rome-Nathan Horton incident in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup final hasn’t set a stampede in motion, either.

But little by little, the GMs — who met Wednesday at a downtown Boston hotel — appear to be sidling toward an acknowledgment that most head hits need to be punishable, in some fashion.

The GMs have put forth a recommendation to expand Rule 48, which deals with illegal hits to the head, by removing the words “blindside” and perhaps “north-south” as well, and appear to want the rule to cover hits to the head of any vulnerable player, anywhere on the ice.

There can be no new rule until the competition committee, NHL Players Association and Board of Governors all sign off on it.

But as for clarity, not much of it emerged Wednesday

Henrik Sedin; suspension was too harsh; Sedin the latest to get it wrong...

Listening to Sedin sister Henrik you would think that Vancouver Canucks defenseman Aaron Rome is the victim in this situation. Maybe Henrik should grab some perspective and look at this situation from a different perspective/angle. Imagine if one of the big, bad, mean, Boston Bruins; say a defenseman with the name Johnny Boychuk had smoked your brother Daniel Sedin at the blue line and he was lying on the ice knocked out, his season ended prematurely from an unnecessary and illegal hit and then carried off the ice on a stretcher; then would you still think that the suspension was too harsh? I highly doubt it, you would probably applaud it.

Question for the Canucks fans

I ask the many Vancouver Canucks fans that have visited my blog in the last week, would the suspension be too harsh if it was a skilled Vancouver Canucks player that had been knocked out for the rest of the Stanley Cup Finals by a 6th defenseman? Do we really think that hit should go unpunished and why isn’t a four game suspension warranted? If your still not seeing the point, think of the trade off, your team’s 6^th ranked defenseman that has one point in 14 games (1g-0a-1pts) has taken out a player Nathan Horton (8g-9a-17pts) ... I think a four game suspension is about right.

Bruins have a free pass; No supplemental discipline for Burrows

Image via WikipediaFor the self congratulatory hockey pundits that had said there is a conspiracy for the Boston Bruins because Colin Campbell’s son Greg Campbell plays for the Boston Bruins; that conspiracy has been proven to be unfounded and has been shot full of holes to boot. Vancouver Canucks "hack" Alex Burrows will not be suspended for biting Patrice Bergeron.

VANCOUVER -- National Hockey League Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations Mike Murphy today announced that there will be no supplemental discipline on Vancouver Canucks forward Alex Burrows for an alleged incident in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.

"After reviewing the incident, including speaking with the on-ice officials, I can find no conclusive evidence that Alex Burrows intentionally bit the finger of Patrice Bergeron," Murphy's statement

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."