The following casual conversation took place between myself and a good friend, Steve Saal, in between our bickering over whose team will do better, Devils or Rangers, when a general discussion of the state of the NHL broke out:
Steve: The enforcement in the NHL is such a joke that I don’t judge anyone.
Me: Yeah, inconsistencies are pathetic
Steve: and Chara not being disciplined is basically contrary to everything in our entire society
Me: He needed to get a game or two because he was not aware of where he was on the ice.
No question he needed to get a game or two.
Steve: Hell, more than that. We'll throw people in jail for doing things that are illegal, and, while you would never foresee a specific type of injury from the action, you'd be responsible for it nonetheless. But we won’t suspend a hockey player
Me: very very good way to look at it
Steve: There's a guy up in Boston facing man slaughter charges, and deservedly so, because, in a dispute, he threw a glass. the glass bounced awkwardly, shattered, stabbed, and killed a young guy from long island who was in no way connected to the confrontation. Did he ever think he was going to slice someone's artery and kill them when he threw that glass? Of course not, but it was still illegal and stupid and he deserves to be held accountable.
Me: You know what I think, and it’s very narrow sighted, I think his [Commissioner Gary Bettman] contract extension has a big role in Chara not getting anything.
Steve: Chara illegally finished a check towards the boards. Normally, nothing comes of it, but it was illegal and the crazy results are his responsibility.
Steve: [In response to my comment] Maybe.
Steve: To me, there's no difference in those two examples, Chara, and that bar incident.
They are unlawful, overt and intentional acts that unfortunately resulted in something catastrophic that no one would ever predict.
If we were out on the street and were fighting, and I moderately pushed you and you stumbled, nothing happens. If I moderately push you and don’t see the pole I push your head into --> ASSAULT. That's life.
The law sees the intent of the act, and the injury. Intent to cause the injury is an escalating issue but not determinative.
Sorry, been fighting with people on this all week. It gets me annoyed.
For whatever reason, in sports, intent to cause the injury somehow got into the punishment process.
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Showing posts with label Boston Bruins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Boston Bruins. Show all posts
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Playoff Life Support - March 10th
A night after the scenarios nearly played out to perfection, the idle Devils again turn their eyes to the scoreboard and hope for help from the rest of the Eastern Conference.
Atlanta at Carolina
Last night, the Atlanta Thrashers sprinted to a 2 goal lead on the Carolina Hurricanes before the end of the first period. They just couldn't sustain the same intensity throughout the remaining two periods of play.
Carolina turned the game around and by the end of the second, not only were they within a goal of tying the game but they were in complete control of Atlanta.
The Thrashers found themselves surrendering chance after chance as Carolina spread faltering Atlanta out, as odd man rushes became the angle of attack for the Hurricanes.
Late in the third, Eric Cole found himself behind the Thrashers defense and was fed a beautiful pass en route to his equalizer. The goal would prove to be huge for the Canes as the two teams headed to overtime.
But the Thrashers refused to go quietly into the night as they found a way to turn the pressure back on during the extra period, and it resulted in Tim Stapleton netting only his second goal of the season for the winner.
Rangers at Ducks
A few hours after the Thrashers pulled off a rare road victory, the Rangers faced off against the Ducks at the Honda Center in Anaheim.
Rangers controlled most of the play early on and capitalized on a poor change by the Ducks to set up the opening goal. Artem Amnisimov picked up a loose puck and broke in on a 3 on 2 as the Ducks scrambled to complete the change. Amnisimov moved the puck to Ryan Callahan who took only a second to move the puck to the right wing to Brandon Dubinsky who ripped a wrister behind the glove and pad of Ban Ellis.
Just four minutes later, Corey Perry changed the complexion of the game as he took a seamlessly harmless shot on goal from the right corner behind the Ranger net. The “pass” deflected off the skate of defenseman Dan Girardi and between the legs of Henrik Lundqvist.
Two minutes later, the Ducks struck again. This time a defenseman took the shot, Lubomir Visnovsky, which again banked off a Ranger player, Marc Stahl, before hitting the back of the net.
With under a minute to go, Visnovsky struck again with another shot from the point. This time, however, it didn’t need any help from Ranger players to get home.
The Rangers had come out of the gate on fire, looking like they’d have another dominating performance off the heels of their route of Philadelphia on Sunday, but the Perry bounce and followed by Visnovsky’s goals seemed to break their backs. They tried to mount a concentrated offensive effort late in the 2nd but ran out of time, and luck, as Ellis was equal to the task.
The Ducks would strike quickly in the 3rd, as Bobby Ryan added his second point of the game with a goal of his own, and the Rangers would answer to keep the game within two off a goal from Marion Gaborik. However, Ryan and Perry would put the lead back to three after some crisp passing on a rush which resulted in Perry’s second goal of the night.
The Rangers continue to squander critical points as they are now within reach of two teams, with only one space between them and being out of the playoffs. With the bottom 7 teams getting their acts together, now is the absolute wrong time for New York to hit a rough patch.
It is, however, fortunate for those chasing them, such as the Devils who are 10 points back with 2 games in hand.
Tonight, there are four games for Devils fans to keep their eyes on tonight:
Buffalo at Boston
Sorry Sabres fans, we joined you last night pulling for mutual demise of opposing clubs, however you’re in our crosshairs and it’s your time to be cheered against. The Devils need Boston to win this one in regulation in order to have a chance in redeeming their Tuesday night blunder against Ottawa. Keeping the gap at 8 points would be huge entering tomorrow night’s contest against the Thrashers.
Flyers at Toronto
Which Flyers’ team will show up tonight: the pathetic waste against meek Eastern Conference foes that can’t seem to motivate themselves to victory, or the one which dominated the Edmonton Oilers the other night? The Devils hope the latter team arrives in Toronto and shuts down a team that’s ahead of NJ’s quest for the playoffs.
Senators at Florida
With both teams behind them, one would think it wouldn’t matter what the outcome of this game was. However, even with a game in hand, the Devils need the Sens to win this one in order to not fall back behind another team. Florida is only a point behind New Jersey so a loss in overtime/shootout is okay due to the tiebreakers, however a Panther win puts the Devils back into 13th.
Canadiens at Blues
Montreal has a 17 point lead on the Devils, so no big deal who wins this game, right? Well, if they falter like every East team has done lately, why not believe they can be caught. So it may be a little farfetched, but keeping teams close is always a plus, so let’s go Blues!
Atlanta at Carolina
Last night, the Atlanta Thrashers sprinted to a 2 goal lead on the Carolina Hurricanes before the end of the first period. They just couldn't sustain the same intensity throughout the remaining two periods of play.
Carolina turned the game around and by the end of the second, not only were they within a goal of tying the game but they were in complete control of Atlanta.
The Thrashers found themselves surrendering chance after chance as Carolina spread faltering Atlanta out, as odd man rushes became the angle of attack for the Hurricanes.
Late in the third, Eric Cole found himself behind the Thrashers defense and was fed a beautiful pass en route to his equalizer. The goal would prove to be huge for the Canes as the two teams headed to overtime.
But the Thrashers refused to go quietly into the night as they found a way to turn the pressure back on during the extra period, and it resulted in Tim Stapleton netting only his second goal of the season for the winner.
Rangers at Ducks
A few hours after the Thrashers pulled off a rare road victory, the Rangers faced off against the Ducks at the Honda Center in Anaheim.
Rangers controlled most of the play early on and capitalized on a poor change by the Ducks to set up the opening goal. Artem Amnisimov picked up a loose puck and broke in on a 3 on 2 as the Ducks scrambled to complete the change. Amnisimov moved the puck to Ryan Callahan who took only a second to move the puck to the right wing to Brandon Dubinsky who ripped a wrister behind the glove and pad of Ban Ellis.
Just four minutes later, Corey Perry changed the complexion of the game as he took a seamlessly harmless shot on goal from the right corner behind the Ranger net. The “pass” deflected off the skate of defenseman Dan Girardi and between the legs of Henrik Lundqvist.
Two minutes later, the Ducks struck again. This time a defenseman took the shot, Lubomir Visnovsky, which again banked off a Ranger player, Marc Stahl, before hitting the back of the net.
With under a minute to go, Visnovsky struck again with another shot from the point. This time, however, it didn’t need any help from Ranger players to get home.
The Rangers had come out of the gate on fire, looking like they’d have another dominating performance off the heels of their route of Philadelphia on Sunday, but the Perry bounce and followed by Visnovsky’s goals seemed to break their backs. They tried to mount a concentrated offensive effort late in the 2nd but ran out of time, and luck, as Ellis was equal to the task.
The Ducks would strike quickly in the 3rd, as Bobby Ryan added his second point of the game with a goal of his own, and the Rangers would answer to keep the game within two off a goal from Marion Gaborik. However, Ryan and Perry would put the lead back to three after some crisp passing on a rush which resulted in Perry’s second goal of the night.
The Rangers continue to squander critical points as they are now within reach of two teams, with only one space between them and being out of the playoffs. With the bottom 7 teams getting their acts together, now is the absolute wrong time for New York to hit a rough patch.
It is, however, fortunate for those chasing them, such as the Devils who are 10 points back with 2 games in hand.
Tonight, there are four games for Devils fans to keep their eyes on tonight:
Buffalo at Boston
Sorry Sabres fans, we joined you last night pulling for mutual demise of opposing clubs, however you’re in our crosshairs and it’s your time to be cheered against. The Devils need Boston to win this one in regulation in order to have a chance in redeeming their Tuesday night blunder against Ottawa. Keeping the gap at 8 points would be huge entering tomorrow night’s contest against the Thrashers.
Flyers at Toronto
Which Flyers’ team will show up tonight: the pathetic waste against meek Eastern Conference foes that can’t seem to motivate themselves to victory, or the one which dominated the Edmonton Oilers the other night? The Devils hope the latter team arrives in Toronto and shuts down a team that’s ahead of NJ’s quest for the playoffs.
Senators at Florida
With both teams behind them, one would think it wouldn’t matter what the outcome of this game was. However, even with a game in hand, the Devils need the Sens to win this one in order to not fall back behind another team. Florida is only a point behind New Jersey so a loss in overtime/shootout is okay due to the tiebreakers, however a Panther win puts the Devils back into 13th.
Canadiens at Blues
Montreal has a 17 point lead on the Devils, so no big deal who wins this game, right? Well, if they falter like every East team has done lately, why not believe they can be caught. So it may be a little farfetched, but keeping teams close is always a plus, so let’s go Blues!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Game 11: Giving a Devil His Due
Last season, Dainius Zubrus’ contract looked like a major mistake and a $3.4 million eyesore on towards the Devils’ salary cap space.15 goals and 25 assists hardly made the salary seem worth it, let alone the length of the deal.
Tonight, Zubrus continued on his quest to silence his critics, this time doing it on his offensive side. With under 2 minutes to go, Zubrus crashed the net on an aggressive forecheck while Zach Parise took a slap shot from the high point. Bruins’ goaltender Tim Thomas got most of the initial shot, but not all of it as the puck squeaked through his pads and settled on the ice behind him, 3 feet from the goal.
Zubrus saw the loose puck and pounced on it without hesitation, as he pushed the puck into the net for the go ahead goal, falling as he began to celebrate.
The Devils never looked back from that point, and held on for the 2-1 victory.
Moments prior to Zubrus’ goal, Devils’ goaltender Yann Danis withstood an onslaught of Bruin shots as Boston pushed for the leading tally. Danis made some fine saves during the rush, but also received a bit of luck as a Bruin shot went over his left shoulder, but bounced harmlessly off the crossbar.
David Clarkson put the Devils ahead early on with his third goal of the season. Clarkson joined a 2 on 1 rush with Niclas Bergfors as the Devils again caught Boston in the attacking zone. Bergfors’ shot was aimed at Thomas’ 5-hole, and as was the case with the game winning goal, Thomas only got a piece of the shot as Clarkson cleaned up the rebound on his way to a jumping celebration against the glass behind the net.
The major black eye to come from this game was the injury sustained by defenseman Johnny Oduya who left the game in the 2nd period with a lower body injury and did not return. While Oduya’s play early on this season has been marred by inconsistency, his loss would be detrimental to an already injury plagued defensive corps.
With Paul Martin our for 4 to 6 weeks, the Devils cannot stand to lose Oduya. If they do for an extended period of time, there is almost no question they will need to go out and find a defenseman who can help lead the team in Martin and Oduya’s absence.
While some will argue they will be able use the current players to fill the void, the shortcomings of the remaining defenseman are abundant.
Colin White, regardless of his current alternate title, has been ineffective for almost the entire season, save for about 5 minutes of solid playing, including two diving poke checks to preserve wins and eliminate scoring chances for the opposition.
Bryce Salvador cannot keep himself out of the penalty box, and besides Oduya, I do not think that anyone else on the team has taken as many lazy penalties as number 24.
Mike Mottau, a former Hoby Baker Award winner, just doesn’t strike me as the type of player who can pick up the defense on his back.
Andy Greene has played phenomenally thus far, but I think the added pressure of being the go to guy on defense will hurt his psyche and possibly kill his current hot streak.
Lastly, Mark Fraser is a rookie, and has only 3 games this season under his belt. To think he alone could pick up the slack is just ridiculous.
Sure, you can say that if the Devils loose Oduya, everyone else can step up and pick up a little piece of the slack, but I think there is far too much slack left to be shouldered by the remaining 6 defenders.
If the Devils loose Oduya, and another proven veteran is not brought in for assistance, the Devils could be in for a long couple of weeks.
7-4-0, 14 points
Next up: Saturday vs. Tampa Bay, 3pm
Tonight, Zubrus continued on his quest to silence his critics, this time doing it on his offensive side. With under 2 minutes to go, Zubrus crashed the net on an aggressive forecheck while Zach Parise took a slap shot from the high point. Bruins’ goaltender Tim Thomas got most of the initial shot, but not all of it as the puck squeaked through his pads and settled on the ice behind him, 3 feet from the goal.
Zubrus saw the loose puck and pounced on it without hesitation, as he pushed the puck into the net for the go ahead goal, falling as he began to celebrate.
The Devils never looked back from that point, and held on for the 2-1 victory.
Moments prior to Zubrus’ goal, Devils’ goaltender Yann Danis withstood an onslaught of Bruin shots as Boston pushed for the leading tally. Danis made some fine saves during the rush, but also received a bit of luck as a Bruin shot went over his left shoulder, but bounced harmlessly off the crossbar.
David Clarkson put the Devils ahead early on with his third goal of the season. Clarkson joined a 2 on 1 rush with Niclas Bergfors as the Devils again caught Boston in the attacking zone. Bergfors’ shot was aimed at Thomas’ 5-hole, and as was the case with the game winning goal, Thomas only got a piece of the shot as Clarkson cleaned up the rebound on his way to a jumping celebration against the glass behind the net.
The major black eye to come from this game was the injury sustained by defenseman Johnny Oduya who left the game in the 2nd period with a lower body injury and did not return. While Oduya’s play early on this season has been marred by inconsistency, his loss would be detrimental to an already injury plagued defensive corps.
With Paul Martin our for 4 to 6 weeks, the Devils cannot stand to lose Oduya. If they do for an extended period of time, there is almost no question they will need to go out and find a defenseman who can help lead the team in Martin and Oduya’s absence.
While some will argue they will be able use the current players to fill the void, the shortcomings of the remaining defenseman are abundant.
Colin White, regardless of his current alternate title, has been ineffective for almost the entire season, save for about 5 minutes of solid playing, including two diving poke checks to preserve wins and eliminate scoring chances for the opposition.
Bryce Salvador cannot keep himself out of the penalty box, and besides Oduya, I do not think that anyone else on the team has taken as many lazy penalties as number 24.
Mike Mottau, a former Hoby Baker Award winner, just doesn’t strike me as the type of player who can pick up the defense on his back.
Andy Greene has played phenomenally thus far, but I think the added pressure of being the go to guy on defense will hurt his psyche and possibly kill his current hot streak.
Lastly, Mark Fraser is a rookie, and has only 3 games this season under his belt. To think he alone could pick up the slack is just ridiculous.
Sure, you can say that if the Devils loose Oduya, everyone else can step up and pick up a little piece of the slack, but I think there is far too much slack left to be shouldered by the remaining 6 defenders.
If the Devils loose Oduya, and another proven veteran is not brought in for assistance, the Devils could be in for a long couple of weeks.
7-4-0, 14 points
Next up: Saturday vs. Tampa Bay, 3pm
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Paille Traded To Boston
The Buffalo Sabres traded left wing Daniel Paille, to the Boston Bruins for a 3rd round pick and a conditional 4th round selection in next year's draft, according to ESPNBoston.com.
Not much to say about the winger, except that he has a cool name to hear Rick Jeaneret call when he scored a power play goal, which in itself was a rare feat. Maybe he'll find a niche playing in Milan Lucic's spot while Lucic recovers from finger surgery.
A little did you know here: Paille was the first round selection for the Sabres in 2002, a pick that origininated in New Jersey, but they traded the pick to Dallas as part of the Randy MacKay/Jason Arnott for Jamie Langenbrunner/Joe Neiuwendyk deal in 2002, Dallas then traded the pick to Colombus who finally dealt it to Buffalo.
Not much to say about the winger, except that he has a cool name to hear Rick Jeaneret call when he scored a power play goal, which in itself was a rare feat. Maybe he'll find a niche playing in Milan Lucic's spot while Lucic recovers from finger surgery.
A little did you know here: Paille was the first round selection for the Sabres in 2002, a pick that origininated in New Jersey, but they traded the pick to Dallas as part of the Randy MacKay/Jason Arnott for Jamie Langenbrunner/Joe Neiuwendyk deal in 2002, Dallas then traded the pick to Colombus who finally dealt it to Buffalo.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
"All We Are Say-ing... Is Give Us a Goal!!"
No no no. I'm just kidding, this will not be a post about how angry I am with the result of tonight's game, cause the reality of it is, I'm okay with it. I am not thrilled with losing to Boston, but they fought hard. Also, its going to be a sloppy article, don't really care at the moment, read, enjoy, deal.
Okay, so we lost one, some streaks were snapped, here was my take on the game from my perspective in section 1 row 4:
--Madden looked rusty as all heck out there tonight, but having missed 2 games, gotta expect some rough patches.
--Rolston also looked shakey out there with the puck. thomas made a good save on his slapper in the first that got the post, didn't really see him do much after that... well other than taking a puck to the upper body while sitting on the bench. I also wasn't thrilled with the turnover to seal the game for the Bruins.
--Elias should have burried that goal on the 2-on-1 with Langs, but the d-man made a good play on it, and thomas got a heck of break by getting it with the heel of his stick.
--Speaking of Tim Thomas, you heard it here first, with Ryan Miller's struggles, Thomas will be the USA starting goalie next winter in Vancouver.
--Parise showed me the most heart tonight, throwing the body around, fighting in the corners, doing everything to spark the offense. He will someday be captain of this team, he already shows flashes of brilliance and leadership by taking charge out there, so its only a matter of time before he dons the C on his chest.
--Colin White, my whipping boy as of late, surprised me early by playing a good game, blocking shots, breaking up passes, playing smart hockey. But then his game came apart. I dont know who was to blame for the goal in the 3rd, Clemmer made a good save but Whitey and Oduya both left Lucic wide open in the slot. I'll blame lack of communication for that one for the time being. I'll watch it on the DVR later and see if I can point a finger at any one player. My biggest gripe, however, is still his refusal to use his full force when playing the bod. In the 2nd he was simply shoving one Bruin before parise came in and threw a HUGE hit on the player [dont remeber who it was].
--Mike Rupp was a force tonight, throwing bodies, having the fight, and even throwing in some decent chances on offense.
Overall i thought it was a good game of hockey vs. a trap team. Boston was patient, and exploited our one major mistake. Simply put, they showed tonight why they are atop the east right now.
last point of the night: I thought the refs played too much of a factor in the game. weird penalties, phantom offsides calls, and how they missed parise getting the high stick off the visor from Chara was beyond me. Chara also tossed Clarkson on his backside with a stiff arm to the face yet no call was made either.
We get 2 off days for the holiday, then need to step up again vs. Pitt on Friday.
Merry Christmas and go Devs!
Okay, so we lost one, some streaks were snapped, here was my take on the game from my perspective in section 1 row 4:
--Madden looked rusty as all heck out there tonight, but having missed 2 games, gotta expect some rough patches.
--Rolston also looked shakey out there with the puck. thomas made a good save on his slapper in the first that got the post, didn't really see him do much after that... well other than taking a puck to the upper body while sitting on the bench. I also wasn't thrilled with the turnover to seal the game for the Bruins.
--Elias should have burried that goal on the 2-on-1 with Langs, but the d-man made a good play on it, and thomas got a heck of break by getting it with the heel of his stick.
--Speaking of Tim Thomas, you heard it here first, with Ryan Miller's struggles, Thomas will be the USA starting goalie next winter in Vancouver.
--Parise showed me the most heart tonight, throwing the body around, fighting in the corners, doing everything to spark the offense. He will someday be captain of this team, he already shows flashes of brilliance and leadership by taking charge out there, so its only a matter of time before he dons the C on his chest.
--Colin White, my whipping boy as of late, surprised me early by playing a good game, blocking shots, breaking up passes, playing smart hockey. But then his game came apart. I dont know who was to blame for the goal in the 3rd, Clemmer made a good save but Whitey and Oduya both left Lucic wide open in the slot. I'll blame lack of communication for that one for the time being. I'll watch it on the DVR later and see if I can point a finger at any one player. My biggest gripe, however, is still his refusal to use his full force when playing the bod. In the 2nd he was simply shoving one Bruin before parise came in and threw a HUGE hit on the player [dont remeber who it was].
--Mike Rupp was a force tonight, throwing bodies, having the fight, and even throwing in some decent chances on offense.
Overall i thought it was a good game of hockey vs. a trap team. Boston was patient, and exploited our one major mistake. Simply put, they showed tonight why they are atop the east right now.
last point of the night: I thought the refs played too much of a factor in the game. weird penalties, phantom offsides calls, and how they missed parise getting the high stick off the visor from Chara was beyond me. Chara also tossed Clarkson on his backside with a stiff arm to the face yet no call was made either.
We get 2 off days for the holiday, then need to step up again vs. Pitt on Friday.
Merry Christmas and go Devs!
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