Bruins Make Multiple Modest Moves

You might not recognize the names, except for one, maybe two. The Bruins acquired left wing Brian Rolston and defenseman Mike Mottau from the Islanders. They sent AHL Marc Cantin and forward Yannick Riendeau.

They also sent Steve Kampfer to Minnesota for defenseman Greg Zanon.

Rolston played with the Bruins back in the early 2000s. He scored a career high 31 in 2001-02. He's got 4 goals and 5 assists in 49 games with the Islanders this year, so I don't know how much he has left in the tank. He adds depth to the bottom end of the depth chart.

Mottau won the Hobey Baker Award (college hockey's Heisman) his senior year at Boston College in 2000. Greg Zanon is similar to Mottau. Neither of these guys will contribute much on offense. Which I'm happy about. The Bruins need solid defensemen that don't make mistakes. These guys are the anti-Tomas Kaberles.

And with Boychuk down, the Bruins needed depth at the blue-line.

These aren't exciting moves. These moves don't make the Bruins much stronger. They address potential weaknesses. I'll take Rolston over Josh Hennessy. I'll take Zanon or Mottau over Kampfer. And maybe even over Corvo.

Should Kyle Turris Have Been Suspended?

No.

His hit on Joe Corvo was potentially dangerous. But that's because it was poorly delivered. It was such an awkward check at an awkward angle in an awkward situation.

It wasn't an intentional targeting of the head. His skates left the ice but he hardly launched himself at Corvo. And he hit Corvo with his shoulder, not an elbow.

It wasn't reckless either. Reckless means that somebody is hitting other players carelessly. Whereas Turris seemed to hit Corvo clumsily.

The NHL considers past history when making these rulings. Turris' history shows that he's not normally a hitter at all. He's 19th on the Senators with 16 hits this season. That's 3 more than Zach Hamill, 5 fewer than Tyler Seguin, and 10 fewer than Jordan Caron.

I understand Jack Edwards' frustration in the moment, but the NHL was correct in not suspending Kyle Turris.

Ought To Win in Ottawa

Even though the Bruins lost Friday night, it wasn't a bad performance. Few mistakes. Give credit to Ryan Miller for being a great goalie. And maybe if Thomas were in net for the shooutout, the Bruins take home 2 points instead of 1. Rask was very good during the game, but Thomas is just slightly better.

Beating Ottawa was more important. The Senators are the only team currently within striking distance of the division leading Bruins.

The B's look to be back in business. After it seemed like everyone was slumping, Marchand has gotten hot. Bergeron scored twice Saturday night, and Chara ended a goalless drought in Buffalo.

The fact that the Ottawa game got as close as 4-3 was unfortunate. The Bruins were the superior team for all of the game until they forgot to cover Daniel Alfredsson. He, Jason Spezza, and Erik Karlsson took advantage of bad Bruins defending. The B's collapsed too low in their own zone, giving Spezza and Alfredsson free reign to move the puck around the ice, get Thomas to commit to a shot from Spezza, then pass to Alfredsson and score.

But Bergeron's empty-netter sealed the deal. It was a smart play, as he shot from his own blue line. Either Seguin would receive the shot/pass, or the shot would go in the net, or Seguin would have a good chance to win the race to wave off the icing.

Things turned nasty in the 3rd period. There was Neil's big hit on Boychuk, which was a shattering check, but a clean check. Later Kyle Turris left his feet to hit Joe Corvo in the head. There was a boarding penalty, but the NHL has decided not to discipline Turris further. Boychuk might be out for a few games. Corvo is fine.

These teams meet Tuesday night in what should be an entertaining and physical game.

Photo Credit:
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