Jun 24, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins center Carl Soderberg (34) collides with Chicago Blackhawks center Michal Handzus (26) during the second period in game six of the 2013 Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
Good news for the Bruins. It looks like Carl Soderberg has healed and could be in action as soon as tonight. It does pose the question of who will be the healthy scratch with his return. Will the newest here Reilly Smith get the press box? Will it end up being Jordan Caron? Maybe even Brad Marchand? I guess we’ll find out at game time.
Brendan Shanahan has decided to give St. Louis Blues’ Maxim Lapierre a five game suspension for his on San Jose’s alternate captain Dan Boyle. Shanahan offers a surprisingly verbose response for the hit. Shanahan acknowledges it as a board. Shanahan states that he is not a repeat offender under the CBA then mentions Lapierre’s previous suspension. Leave it to Shanahan to contradict himself while actually making another successful call in his role as the head of Department of Player Safety. Here is the long call. (NHL)
On that note, Shanahan has ‘extended’ an invitation for Colorado Avalanche forward Cody McLeod to head on down to his office to have one of those “What in the world were you thinking?!” conversations. McLeod committed his own seriously flawed piece of judgment by inflicting a near identical board against the Detroit Red Wings Niklas Kronwall. The sit down likely means as bad as a suspension as Lapierre got or one that’s even worse. (Pro Hockey Talk)
That hit on Kronwall caused some bad blood between the Blues and the Red Wings. Some of the fans are even angrier (Yahoo)
While we’re on a suspension roll Patrick Kaleta of the Buffalo Sabres is in the middle of his ten game suspension for repeated stupidity. He received a feeler from Matt Cooke (you know, the repeat offender career killing Matt Cooke). “If wants to know what I did, I’d gladly talk to him about it,” Cooke said. Having Cooke as a hockey counselor is akin to having Freddy Kruger as your babysitter, but stranger things have happened. (Times Online)
In case you forgot Matt Cooke’s career record, NESN once voted him the dirtiest player in the NHL. High praise when you think of some of the people on the ice at the time (NESN)