The Ditch part deux

Bruins just slow and bad with the puck game 5. They need to just chip it to areas and quit trying to make 3 or 4 passes to get to the offensive zone. Bad idea, just like Chicago trying to play with the puck in front of the Bruins defensemen.

 

football talk.

Tazer's girlfriend, Lindsey. Somebody put this on the football board in the future, I'll forget:

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96Z9DUwlo4E[/video]

New injury speculation is gonorrhea, symptoms advanced in last April.

 

I don't know why I didn't post that a long time ago. I was thinking of groin injuries.

 

I'm a little disappointed in the coverage of the series. East Coast familiarity (bias) is causing most of the hockey analysts to comment from the Bruins perspective more than the Blackhawks. It's not that they're Bruins fans, I think they just follow the Bruins more closely. I think it's a little easier to see what Boston does and doesn't do too. Similar to Detroit years ago, many of the subtle things done in all zones by Chicago go unnoticed or unremarked compared to Boston. I thought CBC, and NBC would have fixed this by now.

 

Looks like Boychuk's hit is being reviewed.

I don't want to see a suspension, I'm glad they didn't blow the whistle, but I would like him to get a fine. He went way too high on that hit intentionally and there was no reason to. He can blow up Toews with his hands down another 6 inches. Nobody wants to watch the games with quality players out because of some of these hits.

 

I agree, bob. That type of hit was unnecessary imo. He ment to send a message of, 'hey, if you come into the slot area , you are going to pay a price'...he could have made a tough hit, not so high though.
Hard telling what the league will do...maybe it might depend on Boychuks track record, wich I know nothing about. Cant undo what happened to Toews, but a fine might make someone think twice about how you hit a guy in a vulnarable position, or it might be just concidered a tough playoff hit.

Sucks, Toews and Bergeron are questionable for a crucial game 6. Not the way I want to see this series wind down. Shtuff happens though.

 

Bergeron flying home with the team this morning, no other update.

 

Here's the hit in question if anyone missed it:
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=X3T78EWn6cM[/video]

 

I think Boychuk has a clean history. He's an abrasive player since he's not really good at skating or defending. He's always been physical but I don't see many questionable hits out of him. I think a fine would be a good message, but I don't want a suspension.

Lucic hurt the net with his stick.

 

Boychuk is not going to receive any supplemental discipline. I don't have a problem with that. Boychuk knows he should have kept the hands a little lower. Given the circumstances, that's good enough. I hope it's better in the future.

I wouldn't have liked if he had to go through the day worrying about Shanahan. I'm glad he'll be able to go about practice without distraction. Credit to Shanahan for making a quick decision and getting it out to the media before the media circus at practice.

 

i don't undertand the controversy here. did boychuk hit him in the head? doesn't look to me like he did. and if he didn't, what's the problem? penalize, fine, or suspend him for being mean?

 

Ive tried to slow it down and looked at some freeze frames and it looks like he got some of the back of the head...maybe upper back of the neck that slid up the head imo and it is difficult to tell. Just seems to me like one of the hits that if it happened earlier in the season there would have been some form of discipline. idk. It is a tough call.

 

They handed out supplemental discipline for similar shots where the shoulder takes the initial contact but the head is the "principle point of contact". Boychuk went high deliberately and caught alot of the head, I think that's why this is controversial and certainly why Shanny took a look at it. Way too late to set a precedent though, from what I'm reading and hearing, it doesn't sound like many of the responsible Blackhawks fans are looking for a suspension or anything extra. Casual fans of both teams going overboard defending or condemning the hit but I hope the issue is put to bed quickly.

Boychuk doesn't have many questionable hits in his past and Toews put himself in a bad spot. In November and going forward, I'll want a fine or suspension for those, but right now, I thought they were right to leave it alone. I thought there were good about resolving the issue quickly before this b.s. story picks up more steam. I've been more aggravated by a few hits along the boards by both teams than this hit.

Boychuk was about an inch away from letting the game get out of hand. If he takes 5 and a game + discipline, he could have really crippled the Bruins, not so much from the Hawks pp, but because of shortening the bench. Too bad little emphasis is placed there. He still could have destroyed Toews going for the chest, he was well prepared to line him up.

 

I found it really interesting that Crawford received so much more national attention about his glove after game 4. He was the winning goalie in OT and Rask gave up a 6-spot. I don't remember anything like it midway through a big playoff series. I'll have to think back.

One of the benefits from this series is that I think many in the media are going to realize how many holes are in the arguments for their opinions and points of emphasis. The Bruins-centric focus on the finals and the complete whiff on evaluating the Pens-Bruins (and strength of the pens all year, they were strong, but had serious holes all year) series will cause many of the writers, bloggers, and tv-types to quietly look in the mirror this summer and next postseason.

This series, however it ends, will cause many of the media members to ask a few more questions before expressing opinions I think. That's a good thing for the voices and the person they torment.

Man, I hope Bergeron can play. He's one of my favorite players to watch.

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...on-toews-rosenbloom-20130622,0,1507094.column

cbc color commentator: "no penalty on that play whatsoever".

 

a yes/no question: do u feel boychuk targeted his head?

48.1 Illegal Check to the Head ? A hit resulting in contact with an
opponent?s head where the head is targeted and the principal point of
contact is not permitted.

 

Maple Leafs aquire Bernier from the Kings for Scrivens, Frattin and a 2nd Rnd draft choice.

 

No based on my definition of the head, but yes on how the league interprets the rules based on 2 years of past rulings if that makes sense. The league and I haven't seen eye to on how the rules are written and their application of those rules.

I believe he targeted high enough to hit the neck or head, which seems to be enough as their interpretation of the rule. I believe the league considers the head and neck to be the same but I'm not sure. I believe he caught the shoulder first. I'm not sure if the shoudler or head was the principle point of contact, like we've seen with glances off of the shoulder even though the shoulder was hit, the head was the principle point of contact. Toews' movements have to be considered and picked apart as well.

The league's interpretation and application of the rules is not so cut and dried as the actual language in the rules in my opinion. I cannot give a hard yes or no because I would need clarification on what exactly is the head. What seems simple has been made very complicated.

 

Leafs keep 500K of salaries too. Nice throw-in for Lombardi to round out his depth.

I like the move for LA, not Toronto.

 

i only saw the hit once yesterday, in real time. today i have seen it repeatedly, in real time and slo-mo.

i'm with the guy from the CBC. no penalty on that play whatsoever. i felt that way yesterday when i saw it happen, and upon further review, i've seen nothing to change my mind about it.