2018-19 Stanley Cup - Bruins vs Blues

fair catch fryar said:

Why do you think the hitting from behind penalty was called? Because he finished the hit when he saw Grz's back. He was committed to making the hit, but still had time to pull up a bit or redirect his body not to make it a direct hit into Grz's back even at "that rate of speed".

The penalty was a legit boarding call, thus making it a reckless hit. I am a little reluctant about the game suspension. The point of my post was that you think the Blue's were slighted and could use this to galvanize as a team because of the debatable 1-game suspension he received by comparing it to the BS hand pass that SJ got away with. I found it a bit ridiculous compared to how the Bruin's locker room is probably feeling pretty PO'd about the way they played and the status of Gryzclek.

If they banned hitting then we wouldn't be able to enjoy good clean hits like Krug laid on Thomas.

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He was going to finish the hit anyway, given his rate of speed. The fact he hit Gryz back is a direct result of gryz losing his balance and leaving his back exposed instead of on his side had he stayed on his skates.

Ras-IR Dowling said:

He was going to finish the hit anyway, given his rate of speed. The fact he hit Gryz back is a direct result of gryz losing his balance and leaving his back exposed instead of on his side had he stayed on his skates.

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I'm not debating the hit unless you think the penalty was the wrong call. Of course he was gonna finish the hit and Grz lost his balance, but Sundquist dropped his shoulder and threw his body when Gryz back was already to him... again, making it a reckless hit.

chris_in_sunnyvale said:

He and his fellow 4th linemates often looked like the best line vs. SJ.

Regards,
Chris

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Okay, so he’s more of a physical, energetic presence, meaning his point total doesn’t necessarily justify his importance. But still...seems like a lot of whining about nothing from Blues fans, considering that it’s just one game.

fair catch fryar said:

I'm not debating the hit unless you think the penalty was the wrong call. Of course he was gonna finish the hit and Grz lost his balance, but Sundquist dropped his shoulder and threw his body when Gryz back was already to him... again, making it a reckless hit.

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2 min was fine. Boarding. That’s where it should’ve ended. The suspension was total BS. I can argue sunny turning his shoulder was his attempt to lay up after Gryz lost balance. Again an unfortunate injury but in this sport at that speed these things happen. Still wasn’t suspension worthy. This looks like a PR move on the NHLs part with the uptick in recent years on concussions.

supafly said:

Okay, so he’s more of a physical, energetic presence, meaning his point total doesn’t necessarily justify his importance. But still...seems like a lot of whining about nothing from Blues fans, considering that it’s just one game.

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Hahaha, shall we direct this back to when Mcavoy was suspended? Seem to recall a lot of pissed of Bs fans at the time.

Ras-IR Dowling said:

Hahaha, shall we direct this back to when Mcavoy was suspended? Seem to recall a lot of pissed of Bs fans at the time.

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That’s kind of my point, though. If McAvoy (who is a much bigger deal) gets suspended a game, then what’s there to debate, really?

Gryz is likely out for the series. In a best case scenario, he misses 2-3 games. It would’ve been strange not to suspend your dude a game. Just my opinion.

supafly said:

Okay, so he’s more of a physical, energetic presence, meaning his point total doesn’t necessarily justify his importance. But still...seems like a lot of whining about nothing from Blues fans, considering that it’s just one game.

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St. Louis had a clear strategy of beating the **** out of SJ's defensemen on the forecheck. Karlsson was the primary target, especially since he had battled injury the entire 2nd half of the season, but even a secondary guy like Justin Braun got beat up. As the series went on, the wear clearly showed. Sundqvist was a key part of that strategy. Berube played the long game vs. SJ quite well. He needs to do the same against Boston. Losing that chess piece even for one game hurts that plan.

Regards,
Chris

supafly said:

That’s kind of my point, though. If McAvoy (who is a much bigger deal) gets suspended a game, then what’s there to debate, really?

Gryz is likely out for the series. In a best case scenario, he misses 2-3 games. It would’ve been strange not to suspend your dude a game. Just my opinion.

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That’s my issue with the new NHL. A lot of their suspensions are based on the result of the hit, not the actual hit itself.

chris_in_sunnyvale said:

St. Louis had a clear strategy of beating the **** out of SJ's defensemen on the forecheck. Karlsson was the primary target, especially since he had battled injury the entire 2nd half of the season, but even a secondary guy like Justin Braun got beat up. As the series went on, the wear clearly showed. Sundqvist was a key part of that strategy. Berube played the long game vs. SJ quite well. He needs to do the same against Boston. Losing that chess piece even for one game hurts that plan.

Regards,
Chris

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So, I read that Karlsson is done in SJ. What’s that about? Production just wouldn’t justify the salary, or is there more to it? I know that he had a down year due to injury, but I was a bit surprised to see the one year rental situation.

supafly said:

So, I read that Karlsson is done in SJ. What’s that about? Production just wouldn’t justify the salary, or is there more to it? I know that he had a down year due to injury, but I was a bit surprised to see the one year rental situation.

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I don't think there's anything of note. Probably never felt like home to him. He's a quiet guy and when compared to outspoken personalities like Burns and Thornton, he kind of just disappears into the background. I didn't understand how good and fast of a skater he was until seeing him at midseason healthy and really clicking with his new teammates. Even in game 1 vs. St. Louis, he was overtaking forwards who had him beat initially. I'd love to see him back. He, Burns and Pickles make a sick top 3. Justin Braun is a good defenseman and when he's your #4 guy you have some serious depth.

Regards,
Chris

Ras-IR Dowling said:

2 min was fine. Boarding. That’s where it should’ve ended. The suspension was total BS. I can argue sunny turning his shoulder was his attempt to lay up after Gryz lost balance. Again an unfortunate injury but in this sport at that speed these things happen. Still wasn’t suspension worthy. This looks like a PR move on the NHLs part with the uptick in recent years on concussions.

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Similar to the McAvoy suspension, your'e now wearing the rose-colored glasses. I too, feel the suspension for both may have been overboard, but that's the point of the message in today's game....if you're gonna lay down a hit then be prepared for the consequences. Do I think Sundquist intended to hurt him? No, but his intent was to hit him hard and when he saw the opportunity he was all in. He had a split second to lay off a bit when Gryz lost his balance, but dropped the shoulder anyway which coincidentally hit his head while Gryz's back was turned. Back to my original point, The B's locker room has A LOT more incentive to galvanize around that incident for inspiration than the Blue's locker room does for their teammates poor judgment just before that hit.

Ras-IR Dowling said:

That’s my issue with the new NHL. A lot of their suspensions are based on the result of the hit, not the actual hit itself.

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hit was to the head..can't happen

If you asked Berube he would take losing Sundqvist for a game if the trade off was Grzelcyk for at least that long any day of the week. The B's had 70% time of possession with Grzelcyk the first game and up until he was lost in game two. If there's a similar hit to be had going forward in the series you better believe they'll make it.

Ras-IR Dowling said:

He was going to finish the hit anyway, given his rate of speed. The fact he hit Gryz back is a direct result of gryz losing his balance and leaving his back exposed instead of on his side had he stayed on his skates.

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he hit his head, case closed

Ras-IR Dowling said:

He was going to finish the hit anyway, given his rate of speed. The fact he hit Gryz back is a direct result of gryz losing his balance and leaving his back exposed instead of on his side had he stayed on his skates.

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That's exactly the problem, though. Going in at that rate of speed when you see a guy's numbers and then you finish your check into the boards, that's classic boarding and could have easily been a 5 minute major. It's very simple. You see a guy's numbers, you don't check him (especially leading with an elbow) at that speed into the boards.

Sundquist has seen Gryz's numbers since the blue line. He goes in at a very high rate of speed determined to check Gryz (peep his elbow already ready to aid the hit)



Gryz moves a bit to the left and what does Sund do? He changes direction with Gryz, keeps the same rate of speed, and finishes his check with his elbow directly into Gryz's numbers and head.





Slam-dunk boarding call, could have easily been 5, and Sundquist deserved the suspension. Case closed.

Dorito Dink said:

Sundquist has seen Gryz's numbers since the blue line. He goes in at a very high rate of speed determined to check Gryz (peep his elbow already ready to aid the hit)

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Gryz moves a bit to the left and what does Sund do? He changes direction with Gryz, keeps the same rate of speed, and finishes his check with his elbow directly into Gryz's numbers and head.

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Slam-dunk boarding call, could have easily been 5, and Sundquist deserved the suspension. Case closed.

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He’s got his numbers tagged from the blue line huh. Hahaha. Laughable insight there. He’s timing his check as Gryz is rounding the back of the rink. Look at your first picture. The numbers you speak of aren’t at Sunny’s 12 o’clock. There at his 8-9, right as gryz is losing balance. Try stopping on a dime at Sunny’s position as gryz’s body shift exposing his numbers. Momentum doesn’t work that way.

Ras-IR Dowling said:

He’s got his numbers tagged from the blue line huh. Hahaha. Laughable insight there. He’s timing his check as Gryz is rounding the back of the rink. Look at your first picture. The numbers you speak of aren’t at Sunny’s 12 o’clock. There at his 8-9, right as gryz is losing balance. Try stopping on a dime at Sunny’s position as gryz’s body shift exposing his numbers. Momentum doesn’t work that way.

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Ignoring the blue line/goal line aspect of the convo, I go back to the point you and I discussed last night.

Why didn't Sunny maintain his angle of attack (watch the video, specifically his alteration of his blades as he approaches) and hit Gryz in the right shoulder as he clearly was going to do?

If Sunny hits him where he intended to, it probably isn't even a penalty (although it could still be a big hit given Gryz's smaller size). Him cutting back left, when Gryz's head and neck are fully exposed to his left, is where Sunny "lost" the claim of "it was too late in the process, I couldn't stop".

I don't think anyone with two firing synapses expected Sunny to stop. Not physically feasible.

But changing the hit he was going for erases the notion that it was bang bang.

EDIT TO ADD - And I fully get and appreciate fans will see what they want to see. Thats natural. I just don't think his changing of his angle of attack is really that subjective of a take. He clearly did it.

Ras-IR Dowling said:

He’s got his numbers tagged from the blue line huh. Hahaha. Laughable insight there. He’s timing his check as Gryz is rounding the back of the rink. Look at your first picture. The numbers you speak of aren’t at Sunny’s 12 o’clock. There at his 8-9, right as gryz is losing balance. Try stopping on a dime at Sunny’s position as gryz’s body shift exposing his numbers. Momentum doesn’t work that way.

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You seem to find several comments on here to be funny when people explain why the hit was reckless and deserved the consequences he got for it. If you played the game or have watched it for a long time you would understand this. Sundquist is in a league containing the best skaters on the planet. He doesn't have to "stop on a dime". He just has to change his positioning by shifting his feet by just a little and his shoulder won't crush Gryz's head. It's pretty apparent in the video.

everlong said:

If you asked Berube he would take losing Sundqvist for a game if the trade off was Grzelcyk for at least that long any day of the week. The B's had 70% time of possession with Grzelcyk on the first game 1 and up until he was lost in game two. If there's a similar hit to be had going forward in the series you better believe they'll make it.

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Bingo.

Thanks to the feckless Bettman, Berube The Goon will sic his younger goons on the rest of the Bs tiny little Dmen (Krug, McIvoy, Clifton) & Forwards (Pasternak, DeBrusk) All Series Long and simply DARE the zebras to call penalties...which of course they won't.