I was to young to watch neely but he definetly can not be moved off the puck, he is using speed along with his big body to back the defenseman up, the fighting u can really see he is worried about breaking his hand again. The kid is surely feared thats for sure. I for one can not wait till saturday nights game.

That was fun!



This hit by Lucic was amazing...I though he killed the guy and ripped his head off. His head caught the corner of the glass between the benches

They continue to impress. Thomas had to cover the puck very quickly after it wrang off the post as a TB player was right there trying to swat it in.

The smothering defense the B's are playing right now is the ticket to the finals. Even when the other team gets shots through it is almost always the Bruins who get to the rebound first.

It's a little early to be peaking so lets hope the injury bug stays away!

Yeah I noticed teams are really starting to run at krejic only a matter of time before he gets hurt.

Was watching the other night when Chara almost killed that guy. The same thing happed the last game I went to (photo above) in my previous post

YouTube - Zdeno Chara hits Max Pacioretty Mar 8, 2011


Chara didn't get any suspension and I don't believe he wanted to decapitate this guy but my thoughts are it is time to redesign the arena for today's style of play. This "old time" hockey rink does not work in todays game. IMO the rink is too small and should be increased in size by at least 15% in all directions, similar to the way golf courses are stretched to accommodate the more skilled players and new equipment. Also it is time to do away with these areas that consistently cause serious damage, names these 90 degree stanchions, hard corners, seams and the dasher. It should be much more smoother, less abrupt and perhaps energy absorbing materials that will deflect the puck but will give when a 200# guy makes impact at high speed.

Frankly I thought this guy was killed when it happened and jumped out of my seat.

Increasing the size would really take away from Playoff Style hockey so I would not want to see that. The european style IMO sucks to watch because they have such large rinks. The dashers have already been changed and are very small now compared to what it used to be a few years ago (still a small lip that could be reduced but nothing like it used to be). I agree there is room for improvement on the 90 degree stanchion. I'm sure they could somehow make it a 45 degree or curved so that it isn't as abrupt.

I would thing increasing rink size would lead to more playoff style hockey. With more room to skate you see more offense. Think 4 on 4 for overtime periods, more ice, more offense and more excitement. Think Olympics too, wide open up and down the ice action.

As far as the stanchions, it is truly amazing that no one has been killed yet. That Canadians player is effectively out of a career it would seem. Sad that he is crying foul from his hospital bed and blaming Chara. You gotta wonder what the next game with them is gonna bring.

I for one have not hit the panic button as many on the call-in shopws seem to have. They do need to find an answer to how to beat Montreal but I still feel this team is Cup-worthy. 7th player lock Marchand had a bad game Tuesday, missing some golden ops to score. Look for a solid effort from all tonight and a 4-1 win against Buffalo...

This is turning into a side show.

Air Canada (one of the NHL main sponsors) is threatening to pull sponsorship because Chara was not suspended.

A District Attorney in Montreal has opened an investigation on the incident to see if criminal chagers should be brought against Chara.

I guess it depends on what “Playoff Hockey” means. It would be more wide open from a skating perspective but it would be much less physical from a checking and tight game perspective. Less room = more physical, more room = more skating. You could also argue that there would be more injuries as when there is a hit, as the impact would be greater due to the increased speed of the game with more room to line someone up.

I’m one for a more tight physical game vs wide open. One thing to consider is the last Olympics had great games and they were played on an NHL ice surface. Put that on an Olympic sized rink and it is a very different style of game. Watch a hockey game played at UNH vs at another Hockey East rink. UNH has a large surface and the others are more the size of the NHL.

I think the ice is too crowed now with 5 on 5 in that space at today's speed and skill.


As for the hit...What about Savards hit...that was an intended hit by someone who has a reputation for hit to injure and he did not even get a penalty.

Rubbing out along the boards is standard play and it is taught down to peewees. Just because the rink has a steel post where he executed the play does not change the play itself.

Look at the above photo at the garden last week....Lucic did the same thing to that player...no penalty was called. He could have easily had the same injury.
The rink needs to be re-designed.

Police investigating brutal hit by Boston Bruins player Zdeno Chara - NHL News | FOX Sports on MSN

Unbelievable. The people in Montreal need to find something to occupy their time besides Les Habitants. I appreciate die hard fans, but they are out of control up their. Did anyone see Pat Hickey from the Montreal Gazette on NESN last night. He was acting like Chara should never play hockey again because of the hit. The guy writes for a newspaper, but you'd think he was the world #1 Canadian fan. What a homer.

I HATE THE MONTREAL CANADIENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FLOPPERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CRY BABIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't think the hit was that big of a deal, certainly not intentional.
The hit on Savard was intentional.

Exactly!!! Montreal police are investigating come on give me a break. All I can think of is the woman in the crowd in the movie slap shot yelling out " French P*$$*"

Here is Don Cherry's take on the hit:

YouTube - Don Cherry's take on Zdeno Chara's hit on Max Pacioretty

On a side note: Matt Cooke (same guy that put Savard out) intentionally went to the head of Ryan McDonagh during Sunday’s Rangers Pens game. New Yorkers didn't call for Cooke to be arrested and they didn't threat to picket in front of Madison Square Garden at the Rangers’ next home game. Showes you what a pack of used tampons those Montreal fans are...........

Gotta love Cherry says it like it is.

He is a sharp dresser!:)

These hits are more a function of the design of the facility then the intent of one player to injure (and the Habs have the WORST record for injuries related to their facility)

As the video shows these impact hits have been around for a while. I would just like to see the rinks modernized to fit today's game. After all they certainly make enough money off the fans to improve the rinks.