I Don't Mind Seeing Pittsburgh Penguins Players Injured, Maybe it Should Happen More Often

I don’t like what Shawn Thornton did Saturday night. But I don’t mind who he did it to, and what team he did it against.

What Thornton did was inexcusable and indefensible. He should and will get suspended a long time for it. The reason it was inexcusable was because Brooks Orpik was defenseless.

However, hitting defenseless players is a consistent pattern of Pittsburgh Penguins hockey. Great offense, shaky goaltending, dirty hits. That’s the Penguins' way. And that’s why I feel no sympathy when I see a Penguins player lying on the ice. Why should I? That’s the sword they live by, and it should be the sword they (metaphorically) die by.

Maybe if enough Penguins get concussed, they’ll reevaluate how they play the game. Maybe if Sidney Crosby gets laid out the same way Marc Savard was by Matt Cooke, and has his career shortened, then the Penguins might look in the mirror and realize that hockey shouldn’t be played the way they play it.

Thornton’s attack on Orpik came after a double dose of Pittsburgh dirtiness. Sidney Crosby kept the blade of his stick on the ice to ensure he tripped up Brad Marchand. The ref, of course, didn’t call it. No big deal. That is until James Neal saw a prone player. Neal’s eyes must have lit up when he saw an opportunity to hit someone when they couldn’t defend themselves.

You can see Neal change directions toward Marchand, and keep his left knee exactly at the same height as Marchand’s skull.

To paraphrase Chris Rock: I’m not saying Shawn Thornton should have retaliated the way he did. But I understand.

Earlier in the game Orpik leveled Loui Eriksson. I think that hit was relatively clean. If anything, a 2 minute minor for interference as Eriksson didn’t have the puck.

What pisses me off about Orpik and the hit on Eriksson is that Orpik has made a career of dispensing hits like that, and then never EVER standing up for himself and for his actions when someone wants to fight him over it. He doesn’t answer the bell. Just drop the gloves, protect yourself, fall to the ice and wait for the linesmen to break it up. That’s all he has to do. But he doesn't. He hasn't fought in 5 seasons.

Orpik, like most of the Penguins, is only brave when his opponent can’t see him. Or when his opponent is horizontal on the ice, like Marchand. Or when he can use his stick as a weapon.

Chris Kelly is now out 4-6 weeks with a fractured fibula. Pascal Dupuis was not penalized for the blatant and completely unnecessary slash. The League has decided not to discipline Dupuis.

If players felt compelled to answer the bell after hits like Orpik’s hit on Eriksson, perhaps guys hesitant to fight, such as Orpik, wouldn’t be giving out so many concussions with legal seek-and-destroy hits. If Orpik knew he would have to defend himself in a fight later, Loui Erksson might not have gotten a concussion.

By the way, where's the sympathy for Eriksson? Second concussion in five weeks.

The NHL suspended James Neal 5 games for kneeing Marchand in the head. I doubt if that will alter Neal's behavior. He’s been warned, fined, and suspended before. And he still plays the way he plays. And he still fails to express any remorse or regret for it. Just as he failed to show remorse for kneeing Marchand:

"I haven't, like, seen the replay or anything, so I mean I hit him in the head with my leg or my foot or my knee or shin area. I don't know. But I mean, he's already going down, and I guess I need to try to avoid him, but I have to look at it again...

"I mean, what do you want me to say? That I was trying to hit him? No, I'm going by him. I don't get out of the way, like I said. I need to be more careful and I guess get my knee out of the way, but I'm not trying to hit him in the head or injure him or anything like that."

Contrast that with Shawn Thornton.

Which player do you think is more likely to repeat what they did?

At least the NHL has given out some sort of punishment to a Penguins player. When Matt Cooke wasn’t suspended for the Savard hit, the NHL failed to curb a dirty player and a dirty team. Instead they gave him and the Penguins license to do as they pleased.

The Penguins will continue to play the Penguins Way that the NHL sanctioned when they didn’t suspend Cooke. At least until something changes. Until they lose more players to suspensions. Or until they lose more players to concussions.

Thornton seemed sorry that Orpik got hurt. I’m not sorry. I don't care. I guess Thornton has more character and class than I do. But I’m just sick of players like Orpik, like Crosby, like Neal, like Dupuis. And until that team changes the way it plays, I won’t shed a tear for their troubles or injuries.

NHL Suspends Goal Post 3 Games for Injuring Steven Stamkos

The NHL's dean of discipline Brendan Shanahan announced that the post that broke Steven Stamkos' right tibia will be suspended for 3 games.

Shanahan explained that the post made no effort to get out of Stamkos' way. The post didn't seem to seek Stamkos out or lean into the hit, but it didn't withdraw at all. Shanahan also noted that as a high-scoring forward, Stamkos and all posts have a long history of mutual antagonism.

This suspension is the latest chapter in the NHL's quest to make the game of hockey as safe as possible. It's the same motivation that was behind John Scott's 7-game suspension, which will surely cure John Scott and the Buffalo Sabres of dirty play. The NHL hopes to make an example of this post, so that other posts, along with all inanimate rink objects, and perhaps players as well, will be more careful in the future.

More specifically, this punishment is focused to deter other inanimate objects, such as the stanchion that took out Max Pacioretty in 2011, to be more careful. That stanchion, similar to Matt Cooke, wasn't punished. But years later, the NHL obviously seems to be clamping down.

So the warning has been issued by the NHL to all the posts, stanchions, boards, and Zambonis. That their reckless style will no longer be tolerated.

Pain Filled Weekend for Bruins

The Pittsburgh Penguins are the dirtiest team that is never called dirty. From Matt Cooke to Geno Malkin. They play with reckless abandon. And fine for them, but karma will keep concussing Sidney Crosby until the Penguins repent and change their ways.

The Malkin hit on Boychuk probably won't result in a suspension. Brendan Shanahan will make a video explaining how the head wasn't specifically targeted, Boychuk dropped his right shoulder, Malkin's a great guy, and the lack of a center redline was somehow the true culprit.

All that aside, the Bruins didn't respond to the hit. That pissed me off more than the hit itself. I wanted to see Shawn Thornton on the ice the second Malkin was released from the box. Charge him. Crosscheck his Bolshevik face. Malkin remained literally untouched for the remainder of the game. I'm not saying the Bruins should have tried to injure him. But make him pay a higher cost than just the paltry 2 minute minor and the friendly phone conversation he'll have with Shanahan. Make him feel some pain.

The B's felt pain all weekend. And watching them was equally torturous.

Why the hell did Tim Thomas start both games? He's shown clear signs that his energy levels are below 100%. At his best, he moves around the crease with ferocious grace. He's never out of the play because he's so quick to recover his balance. Actually, he never seems to lose his balance, no matter how he contorts himself. Lately, he hasn't been able to recover and make that second save. He needs rest. More importantly, the Bruins need him rested. The playoffs start in less than a month.

If Thomas doesn't get some rest right now, all the Bruins will have plenty of rest in May.

Turco did well. The silver lining of Thomas and the Bruins struggling in yesterday's 1st period was that now we all know Turco isn't a liability. He's a windmill. Before the Bruins signed him, he was working part time as an obstacle on a mini-golf course.

So with Turco, Thomas can rest. There are 15 games left, I'd like to see Thomas play about 8 of them. 10 at the most. This team is finding ways to lose no matter who is in net.

David Krejci's afternoon in Pittsburgh was a good summary of the Bruins' struggles. He scored 2 goals, but his +/- was 0 for the game. His offense was excellent, but he was inconsistent on defense. He got mesmerized by the puck, forgot to cover Kunitz in the slot, and a goal resulted. He won 12 of 22 faceoffs, but was utterly dominated by Malkin (who won 15 of 20). A nice 2 goals, but a costly mistake, and a failure to do some of the little things that win games.

That's been the Bruins since the start of 2012. Occasional brilliance mixed with inexcusable breakdowns.

Maybe the Bruins are tired from playing 107 games last year. Maybe the Bruins are suffering from injury.

The Canucks played 107 games last year too. They have the 3rd best record in the NHL. And the Penguins have been without Crosby for some time. The Rangers are without Callahan. The number of injuries for the Bruins right now is considerable, but when this stretch of poor play started they were quite healthy.

The Bruins were outmuscled yesterday. Worse than that, they're making horrible decisions. They haven't scored a timely Power Play goal in what seems like months. Every good period of play is sandwiched by two periods of bad play.

The Bruins are 2 points ahead of Ottawa with 2 games in hand. And right now those 2 points are the difference between the #2 seed and the #7 seed.

The B's are in Tampa Tuesday night.

Photo Credits:
AP Photo

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.

Ference Suspended 3 Games

With the Patriots winning and Paterno dying, and of course the even bigger story about Tim Thomas not going to the White House, we didn't notice a BS suspension. Andrew Ference got suspended 3 games for his hit on Ryan McDonagh. Here's Brendan Shanahan's explanation:

Well, in my opinion, McDonagh did contribute to this hit by getting in Andrew Ference's way. Shanahan describes this as a textbook example of boarding, but to me, the textbook boarding has been when someone lines a vulnerable opponent up, then strikes when the opponent CANNOT defend himself. Not when an opponent obstructs your path to the puck, then places his legs in such an awkward wide stance that he has decided not to defend himself.

Ference, a relatively clean player, now has a black mark on his record. He got suspended the same number of games as Ovechkin did for this hit:

So Ovechkin launches himself, hits an opponent in the head, and has a history of suspensions and fines. Ference boards McDonagh, doesn't hit him in the head, and has no history of dirty play. And they're suspended the same number of games?

Shanahan admits that Ference shows no malicious intent in the hit. It was perhaps reckless. In which case, a fine or one game suspension is sufficient, I think. Then if Ference develops a habit of reckless hits, the suspensions can increase.

Ference is a 12 year veteran with a clean record and he gets suspended 3 games because McDonagh braced himself awkwardly and tried to block Ference from the puck. Seems a bit harsh.

Marchand Suspended for Five Games

After lengthy deliberation, the NHL suspended Marchand for 5 games. They deemed his clipping check of Sami Salo to be "predatory." No doubt Marchand's history and reputation played a part in the NHL's decision, rightfully so. Brendan Shanahan explains.

I wish the NFL would do stuff like this, clearly explaining and showing with video why they've decided to discipline a player.

Anyway, the simple fact is, Marchand ducked too low. If that was intentional or incidental, only Marchand knows. He should also know better. He can duck this check by dropping his shoulder into Salo's hip. He has a reputation and a history, particularly with this team. While we adore him for moments like this one:

That style of behavior tends to draw the attention of the League offices.

And before anyone accuses the NHL of an anti-Boston bias, or of trying too hard to eliminate physicality in the game, let's remember that Chara didn't get disciplined at all for his hit on Max Pacioretty. And more recently, Lucic's game misconduct from Saturday was rescinded.

I do think that calling this hit "predatory" is a bit much. It'll satisfy the whining from Vancouver's players, press, and coaches. In effect, this suspension is a warning to Marchand. One he must heed. I love his style of play, I love how he gets under the skin of opponents, but he has to learn where the boundaries are. He crossed a boundary on Saturday. And now he has some time to think about it.

Of course, to any high and mighty Canucks fans, I wouldn't get too morally superior.