Bruins beat up the Habs and beat them 8-6 on the score board

If you didn't see this game tonight, watch this video by NESN, it was amazing, oh my!!! What a game tonight. There was a lot of goals tonight 14 and a there were a lot of fights as well, there were 187 192 minutes in penalties minutes. Wow! This is the way the Boston Bruins need to play to be successful, they need to show the opposition that they will not be pushed around and that they will push back, last week they beat the hell out of Dallas Stars and the Bruins won the battles tonight as well. The big bad Bruins are back. This blurb by NESN.COM really explains it pretty good.

"We're on opposing team but we spent some time together at a hockey camp a few summers ago and we were just at the All-Star Game together," Thomas said. "We're on friendly terms. It was business, but once business is done, it's done."

It wasn't done for the rest of the players though. Another melee saw David Krejci and Benoit Pouliot break away from the pack and square off, only to have Krejci dropped with a big punch. Andrew Ference and Travis Moen later exchanged blows in a spirited scrap, and while that was being broken up three other fights broke out simultaneously.

The Bruins had the decided edge in each of those bouts, with Shawn Thornton fighting through the refs to pound on Roman Hamrlik after a shot from Hamrlik ignited that powder keg. Johnny Boychuk worked over Jaraslav Spacek and Greg Campbell won a one-sided decision over Tom Pyatt during the same line brawl.

Between the punchups, the goals came fast and furious, with Boston matching a season-high output with eight goals to make it a truly enjoyable evening for the Bruins faithful.

Goalie Fight - Carey Price vs Tim Thomas

Redwing77's favorite Habs goalie Carey Price got into an alleged fight tonight with all world Bruins goalie Timmy Thomas. While they called it a fight in the box score this looked more like a dance among friends if you ask me. Here is the penalties from the scrum [Box Score]
12:36 MTL Brian Gionta : Roughing - 2 min
12:36 MTL Brian Gionta : Roughing - 2 min
12:36 MTL James Wisniewski : Roughing - 2 min
12:36 MTL Max Pacioretty : Roughing - 2 min
12:36 MTL Carey Price served by Roman Hamrlik : Goalie leave crease - 2 min
12:36 MTL Carey Price served by Roman Hamrlik : Fighting (maj) - 5 min
12:36 BOS Mark Recchi : Roughing - 2 min
12:36 BOS Brad Marchand served by Shawn Thornton : Charging - 2 min
12:36 BOS Brad Marchand : Roughing - 2 min
12:36 BOS Zdeno Chara : Roughing - 2 min
12:36 BOS Steven Kampfer : Roughing - 2 min
12:36 BOS Tim Thomas served by Patrice Bergeron : Goalie leave crease - 2 min
12:36 BOS Tim Thomas served by Patrice Bergeron : Fighting (maj) - 5 min

Hump Day thoughts - 3201 and a few other things

I know a lot of my fellow Sioux fans don’t like Kevin Gorg but he did have a lot of nice things to say about the UND Fighting Sioux hockey team at about 7:00 Minutes in on the P.A. show on KFAN. Personally, while Kevin Gorg is a homer (He is from Minnesota) I think he is a great college and NHL Hockey Mind. [Click to listen]

Wisconsin Badgers defenseman Jake Gardiner rights were traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs from the Anaheim Ducks before he ever laced up the skates. [TSN.COM] Check out the comments from the Canadian fans about American players as well.

Brad Schlossman had this on his blog today. This would be very good news if this happens to come to fruition. I would love to see the Sioux play the Eagles and or Michigan in our house.

I’ve tried for over a month now to get official confirmation on this, but have been unable to. That’s probably because no contracts have been signed, so nobody wants to talk. But I’ve gotten extremely strong indications from several people that UND is going to be hosting the Ice Breaker to open next season with a big-time lineup of Boston College, Michigan and Air Force coming to town.

The Ice Breaker, which is awarded by the American Hockey Commissioners Association, usually puts together stellar lineups like this year’s in St. Louis, which featured Wisconsin, Boston University, Notre Dame and Holy Cross. The Sioux last played in it two years ago at Boston University along with Michigan State and UMass.

Penguins’ hack gets flimsy four game suspension

I know we have covered this subject a lot here but I really think that Matt Cooke needs to be suspended more than four games, his latest suspension is a friggen joke and a travesty. This was an opportunity for the NHL to throw the book at this P.O.S. and make a statement that they will no longer tolerate this kind of crap anymore, they let him off the hook with a flimsy four game suspension.

Hey I don't have a problem with players being a pest and it’s one thing to be a antagonize but Cooke goes way beyond the what should be considered ethical behavior on the ice. In looking around the internet today there is a common theme among the fans and bloggers, Matt Cooke needs to sit and there needs to be some teeth to his suspension, maybe a lengthy 15-20 game suspension. Cooke’s four game suspensions is a joke and is basically the league condoning his behavior. Cooke tried to take Ovenchkin’s knee out earlier this week, now this. The next time Cooke commits another dirty hit or bush league the league needs to make it hurt.

NHL.COM --- Matt Cooke of the Pittsburgh Penguins was suspended four games by the NHL on Wednesday for hitting Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Fedor Tyutin from behind Tuesday night, according to Nick Kypreos of Rogers Sportsnet.

I have to agree with Don Cherry that Matt Cooke is a back stabbing piece of _________. We don’t need to put it down here because you know I mean. If you think I am over blowing this go back and watch this video, this is the kind of player Matt Cooke is, in my opinion Cooke is a text book definition of thuggery and goonery. [Click to watch]<<<--Watch this video it's a great historical breakdown of Cooke's antics.

Today on XM-204 Jeremy Roenick called Matt Cooke a chicken shit. [Click to listen]

Drew Stafford's big night.

Former Fighting Sioux forward and Buffalo Sabre Drew Stafford has three hat tricks this season (two against the Boston Bruins) and has been on a terror scoring 17 goals in the last 22 games. Stafford as scored 5 goals in the last two games, that's an amazing pace. [Watch all three of Staffords goals]

Matt Cooke's bush league hit on Fedor Tyutin

Matt Cooke is up to no good again. It's becoming a nightly thing, every game he plays in, Matt Cooke doing something questionable. The other night he was kneeing Ovechkin. Eventually the league has to throw the book at this gutless puke. Where is Evander Kane when you need him? Some will argue that Fedor Tyutin had this coming because he turned his back to Matt Cooke at the last moment and put himself in a vulnerable position. Fortunately, the P.O.S Cooke was tossed from the game for this hit. Props to Tyutin's team mate Derick Brassard for challenging Matt Cooke to a fight for his hit on Tyutin.

Milan Mikhalek hit on Keith Ballard

Check out this hit by the Senators Milan Mikhalek on former Gopher and current Vancouver Canucks forward Keith Ballard, the hit caused an injury to Ballard's leg and he will probably be out of action for 2-4 weeks. From looking at the video it would appear to be a slew foot. What do you think?

Tuesday Linkorama – shuffling through the B.S.

There is a lot of news in college hockey this week. It’s the dog days of winter, no pun intended since three of our teams in the WCHA are named after dogs, Huskies (X2) and Bulldogs. The Huskies (X2) aren’t having very good seasons but the Bulldogs are coming off a three point weekend against the not so Golden Gophers. Mike Connolly had a magical night in Duluth as he lit the lamp 5 times. s/t Ciskie blog

Contrary to what Delusions of Grandeur says the story that he has linked on his blog was an A.P story that was posted on the Herald site and was not what was printed in the Grand Forks Herald. Hell, let’s not let facts get in the way of a good blog post. His latest dissertation is really a piece of work as well. If the state of North Dakota is so bad, why do I see a humongous boat parade every fall from Minnesota?

delusions of grandeur - a delusion (common in paranoia) that you are much greater and more powerful and influential than you really are delusion, psychotic belief - (psychology) an erroneous belief that is held in the face of evidence to the contrary megalomania - a psychological state characterized by delusions of grandeur

Chuck Schwartz from 60 Minutes, No Alibis, No Regrets has his latest addition of Bracketology up and he has the Sioux in St Louis playing the BU Terriers followed by the winner of the DU and Notre Dame game. That would be a region of death in my opinion.

Without a Peer has the Fighting Sioux out east playing in Manchester as a number two seed against Michigan with the winner getting WMU and or University of no hardware UNH. Personally unless UND stumbles down the stretch I see UND finishing as a one seed and not a two seed playing out east. Just my humble opinion, but you never know with the NCAA.

According to Mike Chambers DU's freshman hockey class is as good as advertised, I would have to agree. I hope the Wild sign Zucker after the Pioneers lose in the first round of the NCAA tourney. [Denver Post]

The Bemidji State University Beavers ended a seven-game losing streak to the Purple Cows Mavericks dating back to the 2006-07 season. The Mavericks won the first night on a goal by Bemidji boy Channing Boe in overtime. The Mavericks won game one 2-1.

Kessel: ‘I love Toronto, I want to be here’ Edit Video added

Aaron Lynett/National Post

This story has really taken off and created a fire storm around the blogsphere, if you haven’t seen it, the story is worth a read. It seems like wherever Kessel goes he is either misunderstood or maybe he really is part of the problem. Kessel is an amazing offensive talent but you won’t see him going over the boards to kill a penalty very often.

TORONTO — Nobody in the audience seemed to be listening as intently as Tyler Bozak. He nodded at some answers, grimaced at others and shook his head in bemusement at the tenor of the questions facing the man one stall over, inside the Toronto Maple Leafs dressing room.

Phil Kessel, his friend and teammate, was the reluctant star, holding an unwanted media conference after Monday’s pre-game skate to clarify his comments from a day earlier and dispel any notion that he was demanding a trade. It got a little awkward, and Bozak smiled.

“I kind of just give it to him a bit, bug him about his interviews,” he said with a smile not long after the lights dimmed. “I love it when he gets interviewed, because I like watching him after, cracking jokes to him about it.”

Kessel does not do interviews very often, and he generally does not do them very well. It is a source of humour for some of his teammates, but it became a source of alarm Sunday afternoon, when he hinted at friction with his head coach and stumbled in explaining how he felt when Ron Wilson demoted him to the third line.

The 23-year-old said, flatly, that “me and Ron don’t really talk.”
[Read the Whole Article]

While we are talking about the BTHC

While we are on the subject of the BTHC here are a couple of articles that I have found that might be of interest to some. There is a big unknown out there hanging over everyone’s head, there is a lot of variables that I believe haven’t been thought out. This could have a devastating effect on college hockey. When the BTHC come on line you will probably see the WCHA go after Notre Dame and Miami as well.

news.cincinnati.com ---- Currently, three Big Ten schools compete in the CCHA: Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State. Two, Minnesota and Wisconsin, compete in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

Miami athletic director Brad Bates said Friday he didn’t have any inside word on whether or when the Big Ten hockey league might become a reality.

Given Miami’s high profile in college hockey – the RedHawks have played in back-to-back Frozen Fours – he expects the RedHawks program to not only survive such a thing if it were to happen, but to thrive from it. Miami routinely has standing-room only crowds at 3,200-seat Steve Cady Arena.

“We’ve been very proactive in our talks about it, and we’ll (weigh it) as to how it affects college hockey in general, our league and (Miami),” Bates said.

An Associated Press report this week speculated whether the CCHA’s smaller programs might be “crushed by the Big Ten’s power” if that conference began playing league hockey.

Hockey is expensive, and schools like Lake Superior State in the CCHA are buoyed by big draws like Michigan, the AP said.

This is actually a news story that I am surprised isn't getting more play or exposure. This could speed up the shake up of college hockey. It's worth a read as well.

www.collegian.psu.edu ---- Happy Valley may become Hockey Valley even sooner than expected.

The Pegula Ice Arena is now projected to open in the fall of 2013 rather than in the spring of 2014, said Associate Athletic Director for Ice Arena Operations and the Director of the Ice Arena and Hockey Campaign Joe Battista.

With that news, Battista said Penn State is now projected to begin Division I conference play in 2013-14, a full season earlier. It has yet to be decided whether a Big Ten conference will be created, or if Penn State will join one of the existing Western Collegiate Hockey Association or Central Collegiate Hockey Association conferences.

The men’s and women’s D-I hockey programs are set to begin play in 2012-13 and will spend the first season as an independent, playing in the Greenberg Ice Pavilion.

“We’re pleased with the progress we’re making on the design and the schedule,” Battista said Friday. “A lot of work has gone into this by a lot of people.”

Battista said a meeting held Saturday between himself, Penn State donors Terry and Kim Pegula, Penn State President Graham Spanier, Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley and others could produce more even more news.

“The meeting between everyone was to talk about arena bowl configuration, number of seats and number of suites,” Battista said. “Those official numbers could be released as soon as Monday.”

Don Adam gets the call right - No Goal!

This is the goal that has gotten much discussion on the internet and on Twitter.com. Watching the video I have to respectfully disagree with FSN analyst Kevin Gorg this was not a goal, Don Adam made the right call, the UMD player's hook should not have caused Nico Sacchetti to take out the goalie. In my opinion Sacchetti makes no effort to not run into the goalie and therefore interfered with the UMD goalie.

Matt Cooke's hit on Ovechkin

Here is the latest cheap shot from P.O.S. Matt Cooke, watch the video as he tries to take out Alexander Ovechkin’s knee with a leg check. Of course Cooke will say that he wasn’t trying to injure Ovechkin. I predict that one day very soon Matt Cooke is going to get what is coming to him, live by the sword, die by the sword and then it will be interesting to see the expression on stupid his face will be.

Poll Monday

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
[February 7, 2011]
Team (First Place Votes) Record Points Last Poll
1 Boston College (47) 19-6-0 996 1
2 Yale ( 1) 19-4-0 932 3
3 Minnesota-Duluth ( 1) 18-5-4 871 4
4 Denver 17-6-5 850 2
5 North Dakota 19-8-2 804 5
6 New Hampshire ( 1) 17-5-4 780 6
7 Wisconsin 19-8-3 671 7
8 Rensselaer 18-6-4 599 9
9 Union 20-7-3 558 11
10 Notre Dame 16-9-5 536 10
11 Merrimack 17-5-4 521 12
12 Miami 16-9-5 479 13
13 Michigan 17-9-4 464 8
14 Boston University 13-7-7 341 14
15 Western Michigan 15-6-9 300 16
16 Nebraska-Omaha 16-10-2 227 18
17 Dartmouth 13-7-3 191 17
18 Maine 11-9-6 140 15
19 Colorado College 16-13-1 127 20
20 Princeton 14-8-1 58 19
Others Receiving Votes: Ferris State 24, Rochester Institute of Technology 17, Alaska 5, Cornell 3, Minnesota 2, Robert Morris 2, Ohio State 1, Quinnipiac 1
____________________________________

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll
[February 7, 2011]
1 Boston College 508 (32) 1 19-6-0
2 Yale University 468 (1) 2 19-4-0
3 University of Minnesota Duluth 424 (1) 4 18-5-4
4 University of Denver 399 3 17-6-5
5 University of North Dakota 389 5 19-8-2
6 University of New Hampshire 356 6 17-5-4
7 University of Wisconsin 263 7 19-8-3
8 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 255 8 18-6-4
9 Union College 247 11 20-7-3
10 University of Notre Dame 186 10 16-9-5
11 Merrimack College 185 12 17-5-4
12 Miami University 152 13 16-9-5
13 University of Michigan 118 9 17-9-4
14 Boston University 60 14 13-7-7
15 Western Michigan University 40 NR
Others receiving votes: University of Nebraska Omaha 18, Dartmouth College 9, Rochester Institute of Technology 3.

We Are - Penn State Hockey! Edit Why I am not impressed...

Yawn! If the hockey pundits think that Penn State University is just going to march into college hockey and start winning titles I think they are delusional. Minnesota is an established hockey program and they are having a hell of a time right now in the WCHA, they will be lucky if they get home ice and make the Final Five, they probably are going to miss the NCAA tourney again. Last time I checked Minnesota has all the advantages of a premiere hockey program. Big Ten School Michigan State is floundering this season and sitting in the bottom of the CCHA standings in 10th place. If some think they can just throw money at a big name coach and expect a winning program they are misinformed. I would be surprised if Barry Melrose would know where Penn State is located.

Edit: Some apparently have mistaken satire for hate. Forgive me if I am not colored impressed with the big announcement about PSU going division I in college hockey. While I don’t begrudge PSU wanting to add hockey more the merrier, I am sick and tired of this fawning over PSU the college hockey media and pundits the schools big announcement. They fawn over a school that isn’t division I yet but could give a "EF" about an established school looking for a conference so their program won't fold, they can't hang on forever as an independent.

Going forward, the WCHA is set up and will survive even without the Big Ten Schools Wisconsin and Minnesota. That theory was proven already with Minnesota missing the Final Five all together last season, however, the Big Ten Hockey Conference could have a very catastrophic affect on the not so stable CCHA who some schools are hanging on by a thread, cue BGSU. I am looking at the big picture for the rest of college hockey not just 6 schools that perceive themselves as being elite. Or I should say their athletic directors perceive their schools as being elite. Most of these teams aren’t even a power in BCS football anymore, except maybe OSU which has had trouble getting anyone to show up for their hockey games, even when they make the NCAA tourney.

Why am I not impressed; what pissed me off is how the CCHA wanted nothing to do with UAH a season ago and basically told them to go take a flying ____, however when PSU made their big announcement that they were going Division I in hockey, the commissioner of the CCHA Tom Anastos was all but falling all over himself all of a sudden to extend an invitation to PSU to join the CCHA. Why because he knows what is head for his conference minus MSU and Michigan.

I also think it’s funny that a conference commissioner would sacrifice an established school like UAH to invite a program that has no history other than being an ACHA club hockey school. Yeah that rubs me the wrong way and yeah I can see come college hockey fans might not be that happy. Does that make me a hater, absolutely not!

INCH Power Rankings

As always I include the INCH Power Rankings because they are worth a look. No big surprises this week.

INCH Power Rankings
[February 6, 2011]
1. Boston College
2. Yale
3. Minnesota Duluth
4. North Dakota — The series between the Fighting Sioux and Alaska Anchorage, this weekend’s opponent, has been surprisingly close in recent years. Since the start of the 2006-07 season, NoDak owns a 7-4-2 edge on the Seawolves.
19-8-2 (14-6-0 WCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Alaska Anchorage, vs. Alaska Anchorage
5. Denver
6. New Hampshire
7. Union
8.Rensselaer
9. Merrimack
10. Miami
11. Wisconsin
12. Michigan
13. Notre Dame
14. Western Michigan
15. Boston University
16. Nebraska-Omaha
17. Dartmouth
18. Colorado College
19. RIT
20. Maine
Dropped out: Princeton
Bubble-licious: Cornell, Princeton, Robert Morris

Maybe it's him? (Kessel)

Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images North America

This seems to be a reoccurring theme wherever the young Kessel goes. Seems like Phil Kessel is in the proverbial dog house in Toronto now, oh that can't be. To Bruins fans Kessel is the gift that keeps giving for the Bruins. The Leafs traded two number one draft choices away to get Phil Kessel and the Bruins are set to get another great player of Tyler Seguin's quality in this years draft because the Leafs are at the bottom of the league again.

Toronto Sun ---- Much to the displeasure of Phil Kessel, Maple Leafs’ coach Ron Wilson has finally broken up his second and third lines.

With the season down to 30 games, a huge chasm in the standings between Toronto and the playoff pack and Kessel goal-less in his past 10 starts, Wilson is splitting up the right winger from centre Tyler Bozak, at least for the start of Mondays’ game against the Atlanta Thrashers. Kessel appeared with centre Darryl Boyce and regular left winger Joey Crabb at Sunday’s practice, while Bozak is now between Colby Armstrong and Kris Versteeg.

After practice at the MasterCard Centre. Kessel took the unusual step of sitting in full equipment waiting for reporters at his stall to talk about his woes. Separation from his good pal Bozak is clearly gnawing at him.

“Maybe it’s just not working out here I guess, I can’t get anything going,” Kessel said. “Maybe it’s time for a change or something. I’m not sure if that (putting him with Boyce) is it. Who knows? I’m trying.”

When asked if he and Wilson have discussed the skid off the ice, Kessel replied “me and Ron don’t really talk...that’s all I have to say about that.”

Wilson replied that Kessel is not one to share many thoughts on scoring.

“He doesn’t want to talk about it or even work on it in practice, it’s kind of a touch thing,” Wilson said. “He comes and goes with cold streak and hot streaks. Just be patient and change up the line. This is a different look, it makes you think a little bit.

“At the end of the day, he’s getting the chances (averaging more than four shots per game) and he has to figure a way to put he puck in the net. But a scoring chance that fails, should not shut you down the next five or six minutes.”

The long, bitter fight

I agree with the critics that more could have been done to save the name and the political leaders dropped the ball. I don’t blame people for being angry. I think there are some legitimate questions that need to be asked. Why wasn’t former governor John Hoeven and now U.S. Senator involved in the process? Hoeven is a very popular state wide and he could have made a difference in the process of retaining the nickname. Why wasn’t North Dakotas’ elected leaders team “North Dakota” (Dorgan, Conrad and Pomeroy) involved in the process?

Grand Forks Herald --- In the cascade of venom and conspiracy theory surrounding the fight over the Fighting Sioux name and logo, few key players have escaped abuse or censure.

In public comments posted on the Internet in response to recent news stories on the nickname, UND President Robert Kelley has been called a “buffoon” and worse. “Fire the liar,” another posted.

Student senators who voted to oppose the nickname bills, which would enshrine the Fighting Sioux name in state law, were called cowards. Faculty opponents of the bills were tarred as “Political Correctness Nazis.”

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, who negotiated a lawsuit settlement with the NCAA that gave the state board three years to gain Sioux tribal authority to retain the symbols, was declared “an idiot.”

And Shaft, who took the lead in board efforts to seek responses from the Spirit Lake and Standing Rock Sioux tribes, was dismissed as a “PC puppet.”

His school-age children have been taunted. He has received hundreds of e-mails, mean and rancorous. Horse manure was deposited on his driveway. Legislative leaders publicly scolded Shaft and the board for “mishandling” the nickname issue.

He has been vilified on blogs as a schemer, dupe and traitor to the Fighting Sioux tradition.

“I try not to read the blogs,” Shaft said recently over coffee at the Urban Stampede in Grand Forks. “They have a preconceived notion as to how this went down, a misunderstanding of the facts. Unless we engaged each of them in a 45-minute sit-down, they would not understand.”

Other nickname devotees, “people I know — friends, business acquaintances, members of Sioux Boosters and the Alumni Association board, people who have a more vested interest in the university than most of the bloggers — will tell me they’re deeply disappointed,” he said. “But they recognize the board has done everything it could. It’s time to accept it and move on.”

Just as he did at the legislative hearing, Shaft recited his own Fighting Sioux credentials. He earned his law degree from UND. His wife and brother are graduates. The family connection to Sioux athletics goes back four generations.

“I’m a Fighting Sioux guy,” he said.

The House Education Committee, which heard more than eight hours of testimony on Jan. 26, may take up the nickname bills this week after dealing with budget bills, Chairwoman Rae Ann Kelsch, R-Mandan, said. The committee has work sessions scheduled Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons.

also think it’s funny that people thought the Fighting Sioux nickname would just go away quietly during the night and there wouldn’t be any hurt feelings and all parties would just embrace a new nickname, It’s not going to happen folks. I would be willing to bet that this is going to be a nasty fight.

There has been a lot of stuff said on both sides of the issue and both sides are culpable. It’s laughably predictable that there is now going to be finger pointing and name calling. How nice! I do think that people have a right to question the AG as well as the president of UND, maybe calling him a “buffoon” is a little much but I do think people have a right to question Kelley as well. That's not out of bounds. In the last election I voted against the Attorney General Stenehjem I voted for the democrat whose name escapes me. I mean seriously, Kelley can’t act all smug as say, ’hey, don’t blame me I am not involved in this nickname mess’. Kelley shouldn’t let off the hook so easily. Dr. Kelley can sit in the band with his instrument with his interlocking ND logo jersey on at REA and act as if nothing is happening, but we aren’t stupid.

Boston's Marc Savard done for season

According to Joe McDonald of ESPN Marc Savard is going to be shut down for the season. This is not good news for the Boston Bruins as they have lost one of their top players for the rest of the season. This was the second concussion in ten months for Marc Savard.

Boston Bruins center Marc Savard will be shut down for the remainder of the 2010-11 season because of ongoing problems with concussions, according to a team source. An official announcement is expected from the team on Monday.

General manager Peter Chiarelli declined to comment on Savard's status on Sunday, but early last week Chiarelli admitted to ESPNBoston.com that there was a "strong possibility" Savard's season was over.

Earlier Sunday, at the conclusion of the Bruins' practice, coach Claude Julien said there was no update on Savard.

Savard, along with his agent, Larry Kelly, met with Chiarelli this weekend after undergoing further tests.

Savard suffered his most recent concussion on Jan. 22 against the Avalanche in Colorado when his head hit the bottom of the glass after a clean hit by former teammate Matt Hunwick. In fact, it was the second such hit he suffered in a week's time after he was hit by Penguins defenseman Deryk Engelland early in the third period on Jan. 15 at TD Garden.

While the loss of Savard hurts the Boston Bruins they have played a good portion of the season without him and with their dept the Boston Bruins can still make a big move in the post season. When Savard is healthy he can make a major contribution on the ice for the Bruins.

Hockey Night in Canada - Coach's Corner: Feb 5

Interesting Coach's Corner. Don Cherry discusses the Andrew Ference comments on Daniel Paille's hit on Stars forward Raymond Sawada, in a way I agree with Don Cherry, go up to your teammate in the locker room and tell him you thought the hit was dirty . Don Cherry also addresses the Tim Gleason hit on the Leafs forward Nikolai Kulemin after he hit him twice in the face. Below is the transcript of what Grapes said about Ference.

NESN.COM --- "You do not, I don't care if your teammate is an axe murderer, what you got to say to the guy is you [go to him] in the dressing room and tell him that it was a dirty hit," Cherry said during the segment. "But you wouldn't do that anyhow.

"I'd hate to be in that dressing room right now. You see what happened [Saturday], 2-0 [Bruins loss to San Jose]. That brings your dressing room down. When you have a guy in the dressing room talking about your own players and know he's going to get suspended."

Malkin has torn ACL and MCL

This is really bad news for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Malkin is one of the Penguins top forwards. Sidney Crosby has been out with a concussion since January 5th, so the injuries are starting to pill up for the Penguins.

NHL.COM --- Head coach Dan Bylsma told the media that Evgeni Malkin has a torn ACL and MCL.

"Evgeni Malkin had an MRI this morning. The results show that he has a torn MCL and ACL. At this point in time we are discussing options with the doctors on what to do next.

"This is a difficult injury for him. It was kind of a fluke situation going into the boards with a guy. That's a tough injury for Geno. We have dealt with games without him. We've managed to find our way without him. That's what we're going to have to look at now.

"We're discussing options with our doctor. Surgery is a possibility. I'm not sure if there is a rehab possibility. But right now I just got the news on the MRI."