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Bruins, Canucks disagree over legality of Aaron Rome’s hit on Nathan Horton 06.07.11 at 2:20 am ET
By Scott McLaughlin

Almost as big a story as the game itself is Aaron Rome‘s first-period hit on Nathan Horton. After Horton dished a pass off to Milan Lucic, Rome stepped up and landed a late hit to the head that left Horton lying motionless on the ice for several minutes before being carried off on a stretcher.

After the game, players and coaches on both sides agreed that the primary concern was for Horton’s well-being. What they didn’t agree on, however, was how dirty or clean the hit actually was.

“I think what I would  call it is it was a blindside hit that we’ve talked about taking out of the game,” Claude Julien said. “[Horton] made the pass. It was late. [Rome] came from the blindside. Whether it’s through the motion of the hit, it appeared he left his feet a little bit.”

Canucks coach Alain Vigneault disagreed with the assessment that it was the kind of hit the NHL is trying to get rid of.

“That hit was a head-on hit,” Vigneault said. “[Horton] was looking at his pass. It was a little bit late, but I don’t think that’s the type of hit that the league’s trying to take out.”

On replay, it appears that Horton was following the play more than anything — something any player would do while entering the zone on an offensive rush. Vigneault also conveniently ignored the fact that it was a hit to the head, regardless of what Horton was looking at. He wasn’t the only one in the Vancouver dressing room to defend the hit, though.

“I thought it was a very clean hit,” center Manny Malhotra said. “The timing was maybe a fraction off, but all in all, you see those hits on a daily basis.”

Malhotra’s assessment seems even more misguided than his coach’s. If it was “very clean,” Rome wouldn’t have been ejected from the game and he wouldn’t have a disciplinary hearing with the NHL Tuesday morning. And Malhotra must be playing in a different league than everyone else if he sees hits like that every day.

No one on the Bruins called Rome a dirty player, but they did say it was a bad hit.

“I played with him and from what I know of him, he is an honest player,” Shawn Thornton said. “But that doesn’t take away from the fact that it was a lateral hit to the head, and that’s what that rule was set into place for as far as I’m concerned.

“Aaron Rome is a good person. I played with him. We played together in Portland [Maine] and Anaheim. I’m not saying he’s a bad person. I’m just saying those are the hits – as players – we have to take out of the game.”

Whether or not NHL disciplinarian Mike Murphy decides to take Rome out of Game 4 and perhaps beyond remains to be seen. The Bruins didn’t directly say they think Rome should be suspended, but they certainly hinted at it by saying it’s the type of hit the league is trying to eliminate.

“I’ll say what I always say: let the league take care of it,” Julien said. “We’re trying to clean that out. Let’s see where they go with that.”

Read More: 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Aaron Rome, Manny Malhotra, Nathan Horton Print  |  Email   | Bark It Up!  |  Digg It
  • Dave

    Absolutely vicious head/chin hit that was very late. Rome should be suspended 3 – 5 games minimum. If he’s not suspended he should be very afraid for Game 4.

  • RIcki

    I agree with Dave…they’ll bite his head off.

  • Pulp

    This cheapshot targeted the head – obvious, and a ‘black-&-white difference’ compared to Rome targeting the body. In fact, Rome’s skates left the ice. It’s not even close.

    The classless Canuck coach, Malhotra, and fans are saying more about themselves than anything else, by trying to argue the point.

    Sure you have to keep your head up, when you play hockey. But the fact is that there are times when you slip up – that’s what allows cheapshot artists like Steve Downie to do their thing. and that’s what the NHL is trying to rid itself of.

    We have great players from Crosby on down benched by repeated concussions. The NHL needs to clean up it’s act. Hockey will still be plenty physical, even without the ‘flying blindslide headshot’.

  • Steve

    It was a Dirty Hit. I may be a Boston fan, but I am not bias. If I was a Vancouver fan, I would have called that dirty. There are many Canadian players, and league players for that matter as well as fans that called the entire professionalism of the Canucks to be extremely poor. From Dirty hits to bitting. No wonder the Bruins are fighting with the Canucks so much. It is like watching UFC on skates.

    Enough of the childish fighting. Play the game the way it was intended to be played or get off the ice. There is no place for this kind of behavior, from either team, in a professional league.

  • Me

    Considering the fact that the canucks are a bunch of thugs, what would you expect them to say. I doubt LaPierre will be sticking his fingers in any Bruins faces after Recchi gave him a taste of his own medicine last night. Hopefully the NHL will take this hit a little more serious than they did the biting incident.

  • timmyt30

    http://scotthoughts1.blogspot.com/2011/06/bruins-embarrass-canucks-8-1-lose.html Bruins embarrass Canucks, Canucks embarrass themselves Still not sure how Van. can defend that

  • Ursine

    Pulp hits the nail on the head…. (pun intended) Rule #48 is about head shots, not timing and late hits. It was obviously late, it was obviously a head shot. As the rule states, obviously a five min. major, game misconduct, and subject to league review. I get a kick out of some talking heads saying that he may get suspended, but not in the cup finals? WHAT? Min. two game suspension, if not rest of series. Maybe NHL does not see conclusive evidence however,..like there was never really a hit, or Norton was never really carted off on a stretcher… aka Downnie finger biting episode!

    http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=64063

  • mongoose65

    Late hit, blindside, left his feet…that’s all it takes. Dirty hit. Even if it wasn’t a head shot (which it was). The ice clearly caused the concussion and it was frightening how hard he hit. It doesn’t make it right, but the Bruins can’t say much. They had a # of these hits this year that took players out. Savard, Chara. They are not innocents. At least they rallied for Horton and Vancouver clearly needs a defenseman.

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