Young Boston Bruins defenseman Jeremy Lauzon will face a disciplinary hearing for his check to Derek Stepan’s head in the 4-2 win over Arizona.
The check can be put down somewhat to youthful exuberance and wanting to impress his Boston Bruins teammates, but unfortunately the timing for Jeremy Lauzon was a little off, affecting the point of contact.
Landing a hit on an experienced guy like Derek Stepan shows exactly the type of young player the Boston Bruins have in Jeremy Lauzon. He’s a no-nonsense kind of guy that plays a strong game in his defensive end.
The play itself actually looks somewhat innocent. Jeremy Lauzon sought to make the hit on Stepan but the Coyotes center looked down at an inopportune time and ended up putting his head in the line of fire. In reality, it looked like Lauzon would’ve only hit the glass otherwise.
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Unluckily for the defenseman, the Boston Bruins also conceded the game’s opening goal to former draft pick Phil Kessel whilst Anders Bjork was serving his five-minute major. Lauzon left the game, receiving a match penalty and leaving his team to fight on with five defensemen on the bench. This is unlikely to put him in the good graces of head coach Bruce Cassidy.
Prior to this incident, Jeremy Lauzon appears to be this season’s Connor Clifton, carving out a role on the Boston Bruins’ back-end after being promoted from the Providence Bruins.
Perhaps the biggest question heading into today’s game with the Detroit Red Wings is whether Brandon Carlo will be ready to go after missing last night’s game for personal reasons. That and whether the discipline is as harsh as a one game suspension.
If Lauzon does indeed have to sit for a game, on top of missing two periods yesterday, the Boston Bruins may find themselves having to shuffle the defensive pairings quite a bit. This could be problematic; despite their lowly standing, the Red Wings have proven a bit of a bogey side after all.
To be fair though, Jeremy Lauzon has no prior history of suspensions or of reckless behaviour in the NHL and while they must be seen to be harsh on contact to the head, nothing about this looks intentional or with malice.
Add in the fact that Derek Stepan returned to the ice, thus you’d assume there’s no concussion or injury caused and you’d have to envisage a fine and a slap on the wrist is the right punishment. Whether that ends up being the case is anyone’s guess.
Hopefully it is so though as Jeremy Lauzon is slowly but surely making himself a strong option for the Boston Bruins to have available.