Times wires
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
BOSTON — Two players made two bad decisions in an instant, something that happens fairly often in the NHL. Boston's Nathan Horton watched his pass an instant too long, and Vancouver's Aaron Rome checked him an instant too late.
Both players' seasons ended in that instant during Monday's Game 3 of the Stanley Cup final. Horton dropped to the ice, apparently unconscious on his back with his eyes open and his gloved right hand reaching up frighteningly into empty space. Rome was ejected.
Horton, a right wing who scored in Boston's 1-0 victory over the Lightning in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final, is out for the series with a severe concussion. Rome, a defenseman, received a four-game suspension — the longest in Cup final history — beginning with tonight's pivotal Game 4.
Mike Murphy, the NHL's senior vice president of hockey operations, said the hit would have been legal if it hadn't been late. But, "I thought it was a late hit," Murphy said.
Rome, who took a serious hit from behind by San Jose's Jamie McGinn during the West final, issued a statement Tuesday through the team.
"I try to play this game honestly and with integrity," he said. "As someone who has experienced this type of injury, I am well aware of its serious nature and have no desire for another player to experience it."
While Horton was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston rallied to win 8-1, cutting Vancouver's series lead to 2-1. Coach Claude Julien said Horton stayed overnight for observation and left Tuesday morning.
Milan Lucic, Horton's fellow wing on Boston's top line, said he had communicated with Horton by text message.
"He's feeling good, feeling a lot better," said Lucic, who turned 23 on Tuesday. "He sent me a birthday wish, so it's good he remembered my birthday after a concussion."
Hockey cultivates and even condones violence — fighting is still allowed, after all — yet still struggles to agree on standards of control.
"Only people who have been on the ice can understand how fast it is, and how quick the decision-making process has to be," said Vancouver defenseman Keith Ballard, who's likely to step into Rome's spot. "You feel like there's no way you can do the right thing sometimes."
As Monday's score got out of hand, the game degenerated into a long brawl, with nine misconduct penalties and 118 penalty minutes in the third period alone.
"The times we play the best are when there's been a lot of emotion in a very physical game," Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference said. "(That's) what our sport is all about — finding that line, playing hard. … A hit like (Rome's) doesn't mean the guy is a bad guy or anything. They are split-second decisions, but they're split-second decisions that obviously can affect lives."
While the Bruins agreed it seemed a bit indelicate to credit Horton's injury for improving their play, that's what happened. As for the Canucks, they brushed aside their collapse as an anomaly and decried the severity of Rome's suspension.
"We don't think he should have been suspended," NHL scoring champion Daniel Sedin said. "We're thinking of Romer right now. … It should be a rallying cry for us, too."
TRADE: The Coyotes sent the negotiating rights of free-agent goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov to the Flyers for forward Matt Clackson, a third-round draft pick in 2012 and future considerations.