In a stunning turn of events, Rangers center Blair Betts has been suspended for two games for his obstruction against Donald Brashear during yesterday’s game:
NHL SUSPENDS NY RANGERS BLAIR BETTS FOR TWO GAMES
NEW YORK (Apr. 27, 2009) The National Hockey League announced today that New York Rangers forward Blair Betts has been suspended for two games for interfering with and obstructing Washington Capitals forward Donald Brashear during Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarter-Final Series.
The incident occurred 9:54 into the first period.
While it is a difficult decision to suspend a player at this point in a Playoff Series, it has been made clear to all of our Players that the National Hockey League cannotand will not tolerate any blatant obstruction fouls, said NHL Senior Executive Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell. We do not take this action lightly. It is the result of an entire day of investigation and evaluation that included the retrieval and review of videotape of the incident and discussions with Mr. Brashear.
That investigation revealed that Mr. Betts purposely placed himself in the path of Mr. Brashear, obstructing his forward progress and preventing him from retrieving the puck and prevented a scoring opportunity.
While, in these circumstances, it always is easy to allege mitigating circumstances, the fact is we will not tolerate these actions. The reputation of the National Hockey League as an institution of fairness requires us to take the appropriate action.
Referees Brad Meier and Bill McCreary were also reprimanded for allowing Betts to cause a stoppage of play and not making the appropriate call of 4-minutes for Delay-of-Game and Interference.
Granted, in this NHL run by Bettman, this article is semi-believable.
No, I did not write this, nor did Stas. But he sent it to me and I had to post it. It’s really funny.
I saw Colton Orr was not in the lineup and Donald Brashear was. Don’t laugh. Think back to a time when Tom Renney failed to have the big enforcer in the lineup for a game against the Flyers, and they proceeded to run rampant all over the Blueshirts. After that game, Renney vowed to never sit Orr again and #28 has been a staple ever since. Especially after watching Brashear challenge Orr during pre-game warmups, you had to believe he was going to be in there right? Right???
Well apparently not, and the injury sustained by Blair Betts is a direct result of not dressing Orr. Brashear knew he could perform that act without fear of having to face the reprecutions of Colton Orr. I applaud Paul Mara for standing up to him, and we can argue until we’re blue in the face about how many minutes Brashear should have gotten for it. As a player, when you see that happen to a teammate of yours, it does something that’s hard to explain. Whatever it is, it takes a lot out of you and its hard to recover from. Brashear didn’t get much ice time after that, and you can speculate as to whether or not this was premeditated, but the Rangers staff allowed it to happen by not having Colton Orr ready to go at a moment’s notice.
I’m in no way pinning the Rangers loss solely on this decision and subsequent event, but it definitely was a factor. Now the Rangers are likely down their best faceoff man and penalty killer. I’ll bet Colton Orr will be dressed for Game 7.
Either way, its time to find out what these Rangers are really made of on Tuesday night….
The Rangers were dominated in today’s game too, thus allowing Washington to gain all the momentum they will need heading back to DC for Game 7. They came out strong, but had the life sucked out of them after Hank got beat on the short side, twice. It looked like they just gave up after Poti scored on the 3-on-1.
I’m all in favor of benching Nik Zherdev right now. Stas brought up a very valid point when we were talking about the Avery suspension, Zherdev does nothing but give the puck away and miss empty nets. He has been downright awful, and really screwed himself over for the offseason. It’s his contract year and he sucked it up since 2009 began. So much for him getting the deal comparable to Erat/Roy/Brown. He’s not the only one missing empty nets (Naslund), but I’m singling him out because he has been downright atrocious. He’s been almost as bad as….
The officiating in the NHL Playoffs over the past years has been terrible. I’m trying to stay away from select four-letter words, and it’s really tough to do so. How can you give Dubinsky 14 minutes for the hit on Green, and give Brashear 2 minutes for his hit on Betts? The hit on Betts can end someone’s career. Ask Brett Lindros. Or hell, ask Eric Lindros. Elbows to the head alter careers. The refs should at least call the game consistently. Bettman should be ashamed of himself for what he has turned this game into. This is why no one takes hockey seriously. But I digress. This officiating issue is a topic that most Ranger fans already know.
With Betts’ concussion (assumed), I’m guessing Artem Anisimov will be called up to take his place in Game 7.
But hey, let’s end this on some positive notes: Dubi and Cally had strong games. Gomez decided to show up in the first period, two PPGs, and it looks like they’ve solved Varlamov, for now.
Game 7 on Tuesday.
Well, the Rangers are going to try again to close out this series, this time in front of the Garden faithful. They need to do a complete 180 from Game 5, where they were utterly dominated. With Tortorella suspended for the game, Jim Schoenfeld will be behind the bench, calling the shots, possibly with Ken Gernander, with the Wolfpack eliminated from the Calder Cup playoffs. Avery will be back in today, and Voros Orr will be sitting.
This is a do or die game. If the Rangers don’t win tonight, I don’t think they will win Game 7 in Washington. I won’t have any fingernails left after this game.
Game time is 2pm on NBC.
Update End of 1: How was that not a major on Brashear? At least make it a double minor if you are giving Mara a penalty. The Rangers should have had a PP there.
Not like it matters. That Poti goal is a back breaker. If history has told us anything, it’s that this Ranger team can’t score goals. I really hope I’m wrong.
By now, you have all heard that Rangers Head Coach John Tortorella will be suspended for Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals due to his conduct behind the bench during Game 5. Prior to the game, Tortorella made the decision to bench Sean Avery in favor of Aaron Voros due to Avery’s lack of discipline at the end of Game 4. While I agreed with taking action with Avery, I disagreed benching him for an entire game and putting a player with an entirely different skill-set in his place. This marked the first time I really questioned Tortorella since he became coach (if that means anything). I do love the fact that Tortorella is a no BS guy: sort of reminds me of another coach that led this team to the Cup 15 years ago (geez has it been that long?)
But while his tactics are refreshing, I look at it this way: on a team that can’t skate, score, or forecheck, and who is trying to close out a playoff series no less, you bench a player that does all three of those things very good with a player who is marginal at all those things. The bottom line in any professional sport is winning, especially in the playoffs (duh). Your best team has to be on the ice every night. And to boot, they STILL took dumb penalties, and the guy you put in to replace the undisciplined Avery may get suspended and/or fined. And on top of THAT, you, as a head coach, lose your cool and get into it with some ridiculously drunk fan. And when all the smoke clears, it turns out that YOU instigated everything with said fan. What message are you sending to your players when stuff like that happens? You would never guess the Caps are on the brink of elimination, given these teams attitudes entering Game 6.
When its all said and done though, the Rangers are still up 3-2, coming back home. And luckily for them, their assistant coach has enough experience and respect to probably will this team to a clinching victory.
The Rangers Party Bus is returning for Game 6. The bus departs from the corner of 31st and 7th at 12:00pm and 12:45pm.
I scheduled this post at around 1:40 (I won’t be home for the rest of the day), and there was no news of viewing parties, you would have to assume they will be at the same places as Game 5, but starting at 12:30.
Posted by: Dave, on 04-25-2009 at 8:00 pm in Playoffs | Comments Off
During last night’s debacle, and really ugly 3rd period, we saw Orr and Voros lay out some dirty hits, and Tortorella get into it with some Washington fans. There is a very good chance we will be seeing at least fines for all three, and possibly suspensions.
What to do if/when someone is suspended? Who do you call up from Hartford to fill in? Artem Anisimov? Greg Moore? maybe give P.A. Parenteau a shot? We shall see later. Right now, we all wait in limbo as Colin Campbell and the rest of the disciplinary committee meet to discuss the fates of Aaron Voros, John Tortorella, and Colton Orr.
On a different note, what is with the Washington fans? Talking about classless. In Game 1, they were throwing stuff at the Rangers, and in Game 5, they throw stuff at Tortorella? I mean, grow up. Seriously. There is no need for any of that. It’s hockey, not the WWE.
I won’t be around for the rest of the day. It’s too nice out to stay in and wait for the result. So I won’t be posting an update on the suspensions until tomorrow. Go outside. It’s beautiful.
Well that sucked. The Rangers were just awful tonight. They came out flat, took soft penalties (a ton of them), allowed shorthanded goals. I mean, what else is there to say? They were dominated. They did everything they did in Game 3. Varlamov wasn’t really challenged until the 3rd period, and now has two (TWO!) shutouts in the playoffs in four games. This was tough to watch, and it got real ugly in the 3rd.
Has anyone heard from or seen Scott Gomez? What about Nik Zherdev? If anyone has seen or heard from them, please let the Rangers know. They have no idea where they have gone. They are key players that need to show that they exist and care on the ice. This team has not gotten any pressure on a 22 year old rookie playing in elimination games, and Gomez, as a team leader, should be one of the people leading the charge in getting pucks to the net. They need to get some sustained offense. AND STAY OUT OF THE EFFING BOX!!! HOLY CRAP!! Hooking, tripping, holding, it’s all lazy hockey. It’s pathetic.
That Ovechkin goal was just silly. The man is a highlight reel every time he touches the puck.
A few positives: Dubi had another strong game, as did Cally, Staal and Girardi. These four usually seem to be the only consistent players that have strong games when the rest of the team stinks. Also, good move by Torts pulling Hank in the 3rd. He was exhausted, and it showed.
As for sitting Avery, I agree with the move. The Avery fanatics won’t, but be realistic, he wouldn’t have made a difference in this game. We know Voros isn’t an upgrade over Avery (they should have called up someone from Hartford), but Avery needed to sit for almost costing the Rangers Game 4. I don’t care what anyone says, this game is still a Caps domination with Avery or without him.
Game 6 back at the Garden on Sunday. Let’s hope the Rangers come out like they got nothing to lose.
With our beloved Blueshirts up 3-1, they go for the kill tonight. Considering what we saw in Game 4 from the Caps, you can expect them to throw everything including the kitchen sink at the Rangers tonight. A high scoring team that’s desperate is one that will be tough to put down for good.
The Rangers will probably need to weather the early storm in the first period, as you can expect the Caps to come out flying. Obviously, Hank will need to repeat his earlier stellar performances to keep the Rangers in it. Some other keys for our Rangers: stay out of the box (for the love of all that is holy, stay out of the freaking box), good defense/clogging the middle the defensive zone, forcing the Caps to the outside, converting at least 1 PPG, and capitalizing on Caps mistakes and turning them into goals, be it even strength or on the PP.
(Interesting note: Running through the series recap on ESPN, the Rangers have outscored the Caps at even strength 5-4).
I don’t expect any lineup changes. I don’t think Torts will sit Avery. Game time is at 7pm tonight on MSG and Versus. If you want to watch with Ranger fans, there are several viewing parties around NY and NJ. Rangers Alumns will be at each viewing party, so it should be a good time.
Update 6:58pm: Sean Avery is not playing tonight. Can’t argue with that. Aaron Voros is in.
Just a quick roundup: three sweeps in the first round, as Boston, Detroit and Vancouver took care of Montreal, Columbus and St. Louis respectively. Anahaim has #1 seed and President’s Trophy winner San Jose down 3-1, with Game 5 at the Shark Tank. NJ/Pitt up 3-2 over Carolina/Philly. And Chicago/Calgary tied at 2.
I’m not all that surprised at the sweeps. Montreal was a very flawed team, Columbus had no offense outside of the Nash line, and St. Louis didn’t match up well against Vancouver.
The Chicago/Calgary series is a very exciting series, and I recommend watching it if you can. You have two high scoring teams with solid goaltending fighting it out. If you get an opportunity to watch on Versus, you should.
In my mental picks, I had San Jose coming out of the West. I doubt that they will win the series, but hey, crazier things have happened.
