BrenDittero

Whichever way this goes, at least Boston lost to Buffalo.

If we could stay out of the box we might have a shot at tying this up.

That one hurts more than the first

Halpy!! Nice pass from Picard.

What happened to Patch is terrible, the way the league reacted is even worse. Are you really suggesting that people will / should stop watching hockey over it ? I don't think that's close to the " truth " in any capacity.

They look pretty "on" to me. It's been a frustrating 24 hours for sure but the players are professionals with a job to do.

Meaningless in the Halak / Price debate sure, but very significant to the Habs run for 1st in the division.

In the article, Gary Bettman is outlining that we won't be bullied or intimidated by Air Canada. An attack on his business and livelihood will not be tolerated. Life must be pretty nice in the hypocritical bubble you've created for yourself Gary. Too bad Pacioretty and the game of hockey can't benefit from this logic as well.

I look forward to hearing which Montreal goaltender is getting the nod. The fact that it's trivial doesn't make it any less interesting. I wish Patches well but there are many more games to go. This will be a good one. We're 3 points away from Boston and they play Buffalo tonight and in Long Island tomorrow.

When game day finally arrives I don't think the Habs will see it that way. There will still be a sore spot. Especially because Patch said he thinks his injury was done on purpose. Most Habs interviewed are leaning in that direction ( even if they can't come right out and say it ) Emotions will be running high and Boston will most likely come out swinging because they will still feel as though they have been wronged in some way. I do agree that Patch's injury will bring the team closer together.

So AHL players lives and livelihoods are less important that those of NHL players? The only statement that makes is that the Bulldogs are disposable. On March 24th I'd like to see a full Canadiens roster light it up in Boston, fight the fights they need to and walk away with another two points. With Max Pacioretty smiling from the press box.

On March 24th the Bruins will have a lot to prove at home. Their only win so far against the Habs is at home using goon tactics. After Chara's walk, the Bruins are surely feeling justified for their style of play and have been given a huge green light to take it to the next level. Subban is the most likely the top target. As a general manager, or part of the coaching staff is there any way to minimize the potential damage? Premeditated retaliation should be out of the question. The only thing that will make us look like more of a laughing stock ( to Bruins fans ) is to do something stupid that gets our players suspended. These MTL / BOS games are escalating from high energy / emotional hockey games to gladiator matches. It's like prison rules, do you strike first or wait to be attacked? On the bright side we know exactly when and where it's going to happen.

Just like Sheen, Chara is bi-winning. He wins by ending the season of a player he had a beef with. He also wins by dodging any repercussions. Ladies and gentlemen give it up for Chara Sheen. You are absolutely right in saying that players are meat. Most big business consists of a powerful but incompetent upper tier of management. These guys will tell themselves that it's their amazing knack for business that has gotten the company ( the NHL ) where it is today. That top tier only exists because of the huge contributions, long hours and sacrifices put in by the lowly employees ( the players ) Employees are not allowed to question management because at the end of the day they are lucky to have jobs and need to appreciate the cushy life that upper management has provided. They always know that there are thousands of people who would love to have your job, and they'll never let you forget that.

The last regular season meeting between the two teams happens tonight. Pacioretty is out for the remainder of the regular season. Chara got a walk from the NHL Headquarters. Will the Habs now be thinking of self preservation? Are the Bruins going to be looking to finish off Subban? Will it degenerate into another Feb 9th at the TD Garden? Without getting into a re tread of suspension talk, how would you like to see or how do you think March 24th will play out ?

With video evidence at their disposal it's mind blowing that the powers that be did not find intent to injure. Chara checking Patch is absolutely a hockey play. Following that up by pushing his head into the extension is not. It's a cheap shot that was meant to injure Patch. Chara could not have anticipated whether he would knock the wind out of Patch, break his shoulder, or fracture vertebrae. What cannot be put in question though is whether or not he intended to hurt another player. He nearly broke a guys neck. It's right there on the last 15 frames of the tape for everyone to see. I don't think I'm guessing what his intentions were. Of course Zdeno will say he didn't mean to. If Chara had said " I didn't mean to hurt Patch that bad " I would say he's telling the truth. But he didn't say that, he told reporters that Patch jumped into the glass, the games moves so fast etc etc. Comments and excuses like that are nothing more than padding for his phone call today. There is a video all over the internet right now that shows Zdeno Chara pushing Max Pachioretty's head into a solid metal post and people are still pretending that the key to solving this mystery is proving intent. Where else does the offenders version of the events trump video evidence? I guess in the NHL.

I would guess that Patch being looked after by the best doctors in Montreal. Everyone here wants to see him get better and wishes him the best. While Patch recuperates, the issue of suspensions is important. The Habs and 11 other teams will have to play Boston in the next 5 weeks. Some sort of line in the sand needs to be drawn so that more people don't get hurt.

I think he'll get 3 games though he deserves more. Off the top of my head I would have said 2 but the talk of a fractured vertebrae might be enough push it one more.

Your own numbers reflect that out of 62 games the Habs have won 58% of the time. Out of those 62 games 41 have been against lower tier teams and 21 against upper tier. The Habs have lost almost twice as many games to lower ranked teams this season. Just from watching these match ups I was always interested to see that Montreal tends to play better against a Boston, Philly or Pitts etc. But then will lose to Toronto or Edmonton for example. On those nights it didn't seem that Montreal was playing their "A" game and it made me wonder why. I find this thread and idea interesting because I don't believe I'm alone in thinking that more often than not we've played better against a top seated team and fallen apart or been surprised by clubs in the bottom seven.

I think we play Boston on March 24th with an even better awareness of what Boston is capable of in their search for points. I don't believe that bringing in our own goon squad will help anything. There is no question that Montreal is a better team who I imagine will win that game too. No doubt the Bruins will again try to injure Habs players. We have no choice but to stick to the game plan, and by winning, expose them for the losers they are. I really hope we play them in the first round, with Montreal in second place at the end of the regular season.

Hey Brobin, Your picture doesn't seem to be working. But could some one please post it, or make up a batch of t-shirts so this ridiculous string of "It's just a reckless accident, I can't get inside the mind of Chara" comments will end. Chara and the rest of the Bruins are goons. Respectable NHL teams don't make runs at players ALL night focusing on knees and necks as worthwhile targets to win a game. If this kind of play is allowed to continue, the next thing we'll see are " reckless accidents " aimed at goaltenders. Opps! It's a fast game and I was just after the puck when I ran full steam into Price. My bad. That'll be cute.

I don't think anyone is painting Chara with a 10 year history of cheap shots and violence. Of course Bruins fans are going to say it's accidental. Their captain is a goon. It mystifies me that anyone can watch the replay and say with a straight face that Chara didn't mean to at least hurt Patch. I've been showing people I work with. Not one of them is a hockey fan. Each one believes that Chara meant to hurt Patch based on video review. The telltale sign is in the last few frames where Chara's arm clearly directs Max's head into the stanchion. It's great that you're on board with a suspension. What I can't get past is you dismissing reasonable comments as nothing more than posts made by mind reading super fans. We don't need to prove that he knew the result of his actions. It's clear that if you purposely run another player into the extension wall ( can we all agree on that? ) something bad has a high percentage of happening. Whether it's a concussion or separated shoulder it doesn't matter. Chara wanted to inflict pain on Patch. You don't need to be a mind reader to get that.

To me, commentators who make these kinds of ill advised statements and try to string together a schoolyard reasoning for revenge are simply not fans of the game. What they are fans of is flapping their lips cause they like the sound. What hockey fan, let alone someone who gets paid to talk about hockey, accepts and defends obviously bad plays that result in serious injury? I think the tune would be very different had Chara not been the one to deliver the hit. Had one of the Islanders done this they'd all be calling for expulsion from the league. I want to see teams make it into the playoffs as healthy as possible after the regular season. I like the high level of competition we should be able to enjoy at the end of a season. As an opposing team, if all you need to do is headhunt to remove gifted players from the NHL, the league has no alternative future than the sad one we're heading towards.

The problem in the NHL now is that players don't have to take responsibility. They don't HAVE to do anything but win. Send a guy out on a stretcher, maybe it'll cost you a couple bucks and a few days home with the family. Accountability is a joke and it's the head office that's let this happen. When every great player is out and the natural lifespan of a leading scorer is 25 due to injury maybe they will look back and really start to ponder when it went off the rails. Chara dodged a pretty big bullet last night and the metal wall is the perfect scape goat. It introduces a third and uncommon element to a bad play, beyond the two players involved. Sadly the stanchion could not be reached for comment.

There are lots of incidents in any NHL game that result in scenarios that can deemed accidents. A high stick or a bad collision in the corner going after the puck etc. On a case by case basis these can fall into some magical gray area. Chara's actions do not. What was most troubling to me about the game last night was the sense that the Bruins we looking to take out a couple Habs over the course of 60 mins. It wasn't an isolated event, it appeared on some level to be a strategy. Perhaps not on the part of the coaching staff but rather the players. Even after the Patch hit the goon tactics didn't stop. How can Patch's " unfortunate accident " be separated from the rest of this goon mentality and played off as a clean hit that turned bad at the last second? I think it speaks to a frustrated Boston teams willingness to do whatever they have to in an attempt a win and that exacting revenge is a virtue. Chara went so far as to try and blame Max for jumping into the stanchion. A ridiculous statment made a by a player fearfull that he would face a jury the next day. Keep building a landing pad for yourself Zdeno, you should be proud that your wide eyed poor-me story has fooled atleast a couple reporters and short sighted commentators. It allows meat head Bruins fans and Habs critics the luxury of sleeping well at night, cause after all, this is " old time hockey" For me, re watching that footage tells the story of a great defensive player, who is too good not to be completely aware of his surroundings, recognizing an opportunity to have a stanchion do his dirty work. I don't believe that Chara could have any idea of how exactly it would play out, but I think it would be silly to believe for a second he didn't use the metal extension wall to cause some type of injury. It's that intent to injure that requires suspension. By doing nothing, the league and the players are saying this behavior is acceptable. I used to think that the 70's and 80's were the wild west of hockey. Maybe it's time to re consider.

+1 Glad to see that others can spot intent when they see it.