Nov 10, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman
Dennis Seidenberg(44) during the first period against the New Jersey Devils at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
The Department of Player Safety’s job is to make sure the players of the National Hockey League don’t kill each other. They police the league to punish players who flagrantly violate the rules. Boston Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg connected with Chicago Blackhawks forward Jonathan Toews last night causing Toews to hit the boards at an unusual angle. Toews was able to finish the shift, but didn’t play in the third period. He is currently listed day-to-day with an upper body injury.
Eyes On Isles
Claude Julien defended Seidenberg after the game. He thought the hit was clean, and that Seidenberg was playing ‘Bruins hockey’. It was nice to see that at least half the team was playing that way. Regrettably, the other half of the team wasn’t and the Blackhawks beat the Bruins last night by a score of 3-2.
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“I certainly don’t like seeing those kinds of things, but this is where it’s important to take care of ourselves. ” said Claude Julien after the game. “So, I view that five-on-three we’re going to close a gap quickly, and Dennis [Seidenberg] is a strong individual. Is he supposed to get weak because of that situation?
“Or he just plays to his strength. I wasn’t happy. I looked at it, and it could be arguable, but from my end of it I think it’s what it is. Our guys need to finish their checks and sure, you’ve got to be careful, but I’m sure he knew that [Seidenberg] was coming.”
Stephane Qunital and the DoPS team reviewed the hit and decided that there will be no supplemental discipline for Seidenberg. They determined that Seidenberg’s hit was clean, and that Toews was starting to lose his balance when the hit occurred. They likely factored in that Seidenberg is a clean player with no previous history of suspensions in the league. They believe the refs made the right call to penalize the Bruins with just a two-minute minor for boarding.