A Rash of Injuries to Test Bruins

After the injuries sustained in the Bruins vs. Penguins game on Saturday, the list only grew against the Maple Leafs the next night.

Here's a compilation video highlighting the major incidents in the brutal first period of the Penguins game.



Less than twenty seconds into the game against the Penguins, Bruins’ winger Loui Eriksson was on the receiving end of a crushing hit by Brooks Orpik.  Whether the Orpik hit on Eriksson was a dirty hit or not could be argued either way.  On one hand, you could say that Eriksson did not have the puck when the hit was delivered, making it a clear interference call.  The dirty hit argument would also claim that Orpik finished high, contacting the head.  On the other hand, it looks as though the puck was passing just under Eriksson’s stick just as contact was made and it is hard to tell whether Eriksson’s head was the primary point of contact.  Either way, the hit has put Eriksson out with his second concussion of the season.

As if losing a second line winger wasn’t enough, word of injury to Chris Kelly came after the game. A broken fibula is reportedly the result of this slash by Pascal Dupuis late in the second period.  Looking at the video, it’s hard to tell whether the slash was intentional.  While Dupuis was swinging at a bouncing puck around Kelly’s skates, it also came right after Kelly finished a hit on Dupuis.  Intent aside, Kelly was placed on Long-term IR and is set to miss 4-6 weeks.

The most notable event however, was the retaliatory actions of Shawn Thornton on Brooks Orpik following his hit on Eriksson.  Of course, right after I write a post about how Shawn Thornton isn't a goon, he goes out and performs the most goonish act of his career.  Thornton approached Orpik from behind, slew-footing him down to the ice and then proceeded to deliver two shots to his face as he was laying on his back, the second knocking him out.

Now I’m a big fan of Shawn Thornton, but his actions in this case are completely unjustifiable.  While Orpik may have had it coming to him after the Eriksson hit and his previous refusal to drop gloves with Thornton, this type of incident has no place in today’s game.  However, I still stand by my statement that this is not the type of player Shawn Thornton is.

He was clearly shaken in his postgame press conference addressing the incident.




Facing what will most likely be a pretty lengthy suspension, Thornton is the third Bruins forward who will be missing some time as a result of the events of this game.

The Bruins didn’t have much time to let the dust settle and figure out what their new forward lines would look like, seeing as they were scheduled to face the Toronto Maple Leafs the very next night.

This game only brought more bad news.  Dougie Hamilton left the game in the first period with what is being reported as a lower-body injury and has flown back to Boston.  It is likely that he will miss the rest of the road trip as the Bruins are set to face off against Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.

The Bruins depth will continued to be tested, even more so now that Hamilton will be missing some time and McQuaid has been placed on the IR.  With three Boston forwards slated to miss time, Ryan Spooner and Matt Fraser have been recalled from Providence to join Jordan Caron as fill-ins. Thankfully, the Bruin’s depth at the blue line has come up huge recently in the absence of McQuaid, and Johnny Boychuck.  Kevan Miller continued his strong play against the Leafs notching his first NHL goal last night.  Bruins coach Claude Julien is optimistic Boychuck will be returning to face Calgary on Tuesday.

This Canadian road trip and the games following will be a huge test for the Bruins.  At this point in the season, sitting atop the Atlantic Conference, the Bruins cannot afford to slip in the absence of these players.  However, if the Bruins can continue to get wins (as they did against Toronto last night) with a patchwork offense and a depleted defensive core, it bodes well for them moving forward.

If the Bruins can continue to play well in their absence, getting these players back will only provide them a boost in the New Year.  How the team responds in the face of this mounting adversity will speak volumes about the Bruins institutional depth and, more importantly, their heart.

ESPN To Suspend Commentator For Questioning if RGIII is Black or Not On Air

ESPN's Rob Parker, a commentator appearing on "First Take," has been suspended for the next 30 days after he took Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III's race into question.  Sad that this sort of thing still happens, nevermind on live television.  But at least its better than Stephen A. Smith going on a rant and calling LeBron James the n-word.

Parker, who is also black, questioned the "blackness" of Griffin, stating that he has a white fiance and is rumored to be Republican.  Since when did either of those things have anything to do with the color of anyone's skin?  Pathetic, really.  Parker issued an apology saying, "I completely understand how the issue of race in sports is a sensitive one and needs to be handled with great care."

But then again, someone who understands that wouldn't be dumb enough to then go say things like Parker did...

Yunel Escobar Gets Suspended For Being an Idiot

Blue Jays infielder Yunel Escobar is currently serving a three-game suspension for some questionable writing on his eye black in a game last weekend.

The offensive term was written in Spanish, but it didn't slip past anyone.  Under the right eye, it said "tu ere," which means "you are" translated to English.  No harm there.  But under the left eye, "maricon."  Now, I've learned that when translated in English, that word means "faggot."  Not cool.

A three game suspension is getting off easy if you ask me.  At least three more should be tacked on for plain stupidity.  But the whole situation was blown way out of proportion if you ask Escobar.

"I have friends who are gay. The person who decorates my house is gay, the person who cuts my hair is gay. I have various friends who are gay. Honestly, they haven't felt as offended about this. They have just a different understanding in the Latin community of this word," Escobar said.  "That's not the significance that I put into it. That's a word used often within teams. It's a word without meaning, the way we use it."

I don't buy it.

Jonathan Vilma Gives Roger Goodell Lifetime Ban From His Restuarant

Ah, the war continues between Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma and NHL commissioner Roger Goodell.  But this is just good clean fun.

Vilma, who owns a restaurant named Brother Jimmy's BBQ in Miami, Fla., posted this sign just inside the front doors as a little revenge for his yearlong suspension, since it will be the only hit Vilma will get to deliver until 12 months from now.

No word on Goodell's reaction, but there will most likely be no backlash.

Ron Artest Sucks

“During that play, I just dunked on Durant and Ibaka. I got real emotional, real excited. It's unfortunate that James had to get hit with an unintentional elbow. I hope he's okay. The Thunder, they're playing for a championship this year. I really hope he's okay and I apologize to the Thunder and to James Harden. It was such a great game. It was unfortunate so much emotion was going on at that time. That's it for today.” -- Metta World Peace

Did World Peace decide he's going to limit his celebrations to only Jon 'Bones' Jones impressions? First of all, I get just as pumped up as anybody for a big play, but never have a thrown my elbow backwards in celebration. Go ahead and try that for yourself, how awkward does it feel? He should be suspended for the rest of the season and the entire playoffs, no question. I don't care if he dunked over Shaq, Wilt Chamberlain and Dikembe Mutombo, no one throws an elbow like that by accident.  If Raffi Torres earned a 25-game suspension, World Peace's elbow is right on par.

For my closing argument, I give you Dan HL, making his second blog post in a row...