The big story in the hockey world was Tuesday night’s game between Montreal and Boston when Zdeno Chara hit Max Pacioretty. I have seen the hit several hundred times and have heard/read hundreds of sports talk radio personalities, callers, writers, and just about everyone else chime in on the topic. In my opinion, it was just a freak accident, with nothing that was an attempt by Big Z to injure Pacioretty. Chara was playing his position and played the body, it was just a sad situation that Pacioretty could potentially lose the rest of his hockey career. In the NHL rule book, there is nothing about “intent to injure”. Below is from the NHL Rulebook which would of caused further suspension/disciplinary action for boarding:
41.4 Match Penalty – The Referee, at his discretion, may assess a match penalty if, in his judgment, the player attempted to or deliberately injured his opponent by boarding.
There was no deliberate attempt to injure. The correct call was made: a major and game misconduct for interference. Below is the exact wording from the NHL Rulebook:
56.4 Major Penalty – The Referee, at his discretion, may assess a major penalty, based on the degree of violence, to a player guilty of interfering with an opponent (see 56.5).
56.5 Game Misconduct Penalty – When a major penalty is imposed under this rule for a foul resulting in an injury of an opponent, a game misconduct shall be imposed.
| Rank | Team | Last Week | Team Notes |
| 1 | VAN | 1 | With a win tonight against Minnesota, they will become the first team to reach 100 points. They were impressive in a five-game road sweep over the last 10 days. They return home this week for three games. |
| 2 | WAS | NR | The Capitals extended their winning streak to eight games as they defeated Chicago in overtime. Can they have the goaltending to take them deep into the season? They travel to Montreal Tuesday then face Detroit the following night. Wednesday’s game vs the Red Wings could be a Stanley Cup preview. |
| 3 | PHI | 6 | For the Flyers to go far, they need a healthy Chris Pronger. He sat out Saturday’s game against the Thrashers in which they lost in OT. This week they have a road trip in which all three games are winnable. |
| 4 | DET | 5 | Friday night against Edmonton, Jimmy Howard got bailed out after he allowed a soft goal to Ryan Jones. Nick Lidstrom scored with 25 seconds left in regulation and Pavel Datsyuk won the game with 42 seconds left in OT. They can’t expect last minute heroics like this if they want to beat Washington Wednesday night. |
| 5 | SJ | 1 | The Sharks didn’t lose last week, but they need every point they can get as Los Angeles is only 3 points back with 13 games left. |
| 6 | NJ | 4 | For a team that needs every point they can get, they didn’t do themselves any favors losing to Ottawa. The Devils still can make the playoffs, but there’s a better chance of us finding a pot of gold somewhere under a rainbow. They face Ottawa again Thursday night. |
| 25 | STL | 28 | Moved up the rankings this week by virtue of winning three games this week, but the collapse against Detroit is what set them back. They head our west for the next week and a half as they take on Phoenix and the California teams. |
| 26 | CBJ | NR | 1-2-2 record in its last five games, the Jackets need to play better against the West. They have a 10-2-1 record against the Eastern conference this season. |
| 27 | EDM | NR | The injury list of the Oilers reads like the US Constitution. The latest injury is to San Gagner, who got his hand slashed on the skate of Ryan Jones when Gagner reached for a water bottle. Also on the shelf is Ales Hemsky, Taylor Hall, and Ryan Whitney. They have two home games this weekend before heading out on the road. |
| 28 | MIN | NR | The Wild have four games this week that could seal their playoff fate. They are four points back of Calgary and they face Vancouver, San Jose, Columbus, and Montreal. |
| 29 | CAR | NR | Another team on the playoff bubble, the Canes have gone 1-3-1 in their last five games. The only win in that span was against Buffalo. Guess who they play on the road tomorrow night? Yes, the Sabres. |
| 30 | COL | 30 | 18 losses in last 19 games. They are the third team in the league to have such a long skid of losing games, along the likes of New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils. Expect them to lose at Vancouver and Calgary this week, but it is a good chance the losing streak can end at Edmonton Saturday night. |
