Canucks & Beyond
Next entry: Canucks Transactions
Previous entry: Howling at the Moon
Reasons to Never Order Pay-Per-View
by Alanah McGinley on 10/11/07 at 03:33 AM ET
Comments (25)
The Canucks got spectacularly whooped on Wednesday night, maintaining their 18 year winless streak against the Flyers on Vancouver ice. (And all for the bargain price of $12.95, since the game could only be watched via PPV. Icing on the cake.)
But aside from Vancouver’s collapse, the game might end up being better remembered for Jesse Boulerice’s little moment in the spotlight. From the Vancouver Sun:
The Canucks lost centre Ryan Kesler at 11:39 of the third when when he was cross-checked in the face by Flyer winger Jesse Boulerice, who received a match penalty for intent to injure.
So, let’s start with that video:
(Thanks to HockeyFights.com for the footage...)
How charming. Boulerice snapped his stick, using Kesler’s face to help him out with his little woodworking project.
From the AP:
Boulerice’s coach agreed that a suspension is probably forthcoming.
“It’s unacceptable, it’s something that we can’t have, Flyers coach John Stevens said. “We didn’t need to get involved in anything really, we had the hockey game in hand and that was the message on the bench, so that kind of stuff can’t happen.’’
Boulerice received a match penalty for intent to injure, which comes with an automatic review by the league.
“I’m just lucky my jaw isn’t broken, hopefully it’s not fractured,’’ Kesler said. “Obviously it’s a dirty play and you don’t like to see that happen to anyone. ... It shouldn’t be in the game.’’
Boulerice said he was sorry for the hit. “I reacted in a bad way the wrong way,’’ he said.
Now, given the fact that Boulerice immediately threw down his gloves as if to fight—right after trying to take off Kesler’s head—I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he had no awareness his cross check would end up in quite as dangerous a position as it did. But he’s responsible for his stick… and that was one seriously dumb move.
Classy stuff, Boulerice. Enjoy your suspension.
The rest of the Canucks’ night wasn’t much better. On nearly every goal, the Canucks looked like minor leaguers playing with the grownups. Disorganized and disinterested.
From Grant Kerr at the Globe & Mail:
“Flat start, flat finish, flat middle,” summed up Canucks defenceman Aaron Miller. “We were awful. We’re just not working. I don’t think the effort can get much worse than that. We had a lot of breakdowns. If the effort’s not there, nothing’s going to work.”
No kidding. I’ve saved Yahoo!’s boxscore below. Might be a good way to keep things in perspective—when the team loses in a normal game, it won’t seem as bad.
Now let’s just hope this is the worst trainwreck-of-a-game we have to see all year, and count ourselves lucky they got it out of the way early.
*knock on wood*
Filed in: vancouver canucks | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: jessie+boulerice, roberto+luongo, ryan+kesler, the+story+of+my+progressive+heart+failure, vancouver+canucks,
Comments
I hope it’s just a bad coinky-dink that both of this young season’s most dangerous plays came courtesy of players on the Philadelphia Flyers.
Posted by Eric from Baltimore on 10/11/07 at 08:38 AM ET
So do I. And on viewing the YouTube video in this post, he didn’t have his hands as close together as I thought based on the angle I originally saw so ignore that part of comment above. Not excusing Boulerice’s actions, but he and Kesler were battling all night and in the hit Kesler tried to throw on Jones right before the cross-check, Kesler’s right arm comes up parallel as he hits the glass. I don’t think Kesler was trying to throw as his arm comes up after he misses Jones and before he hits the glass, but I’m sure that’s what Boulerice saw in live action and his actions were based on protecting a teammate. Doesn’t excuse the use of a stick, just go up and grab the guy, drop the gloves, tell the other guy to drop ‘em, and start fighting no need for using a stick at all.
Posted by philduba from New Jersey on 10/11/07 at 09:10 AM ET
Unfortunately, once again I missed the game due to my cable company still being in talks with the NHL, but Ive seen the hit and hopefully Boulerice gets quite a few games.
The Canucks need to come out of the gate a hell of a lot better than they did last night, and something tells me Luongo isnt 100%.
Posted by PuckHound61 from Speckville USA on 10/11/07 at 09:27 AM ET
i cant defend Boulerice in this situation. that was a stupid stupid move on Boulerice part. i dont care for that guy. The guy doesnt have a few marbles in his head. he deserves to suspended for long period.
if anyone was watching the flyers - canucks game on center ice. it was odd how scottie upshall and flyers broadcast teqam was ripping kelser to shreds and next period he goes down for the ciount.
Posted by FlyersFan on 10/11/07 at 10:03 AM ET
Am I missing somthing??? He never drops his gloves until he gets jumped???
His friggin stick broke on Kesler’s face?????
Isn’t the team that is losing supposed to be the team that does something stupid? (ie Bertuzzi against the Avawimps with the Canucks getting their butts kicked)
Posted by Ryan from BC on 10/11/07 at 10:09 AM ET
I listened to the first period on the radio, and turned it off after that until I went to bed and heard the final score. I’m glad I don’t subscribe to the PPV games.
As for the hit, that’s normally the stupidity that you see by the LOSING team in a blow-out because they get frustrated, etc.
Regardless of whether they’d been going at each other all night, stick incidents deserve suspensions.
Posted by Rod from Vancouver on 10/11/07 at 10:30 AM ET
Typical Vancouver Canuck fan whining. Kessler should be protecting himself if he wants to joust (earlier) with Philly’s goon.
Too bad it wasn’t Matt Cook, the ultimate cheap shot artist. Oh yeah, he got his against LA a couple of years back. Kessler is a bit of a cheap shot artist himself.
Then again what can you expect from a team, media and fans who have never won a Stanley Cup, but act like they have!!!
Posted by R. U. Reddy from Victoria on 10/11/07 at 10:51 AM ET
I don’t really have anything sarcastic or witty to say other than I was expecting an injury out of a Flyers game. I thought it would be the knee instead of the head, but it’s the Flyers and I’m not surprised.
Posted by Isabella from Vancouver on 10/11/07 at 11:59 AM ET
Mirtle has posted a previous incident by Boulderice.
Considering the previous incident, I am in favor of a lifetime suspension.
Posted by HockeyTownTodd from upset when blogs don’t live up to my expectations on 10/11/07 at 12:08 PM ET
Cheap shot, yes, obviously R U Reddy talks hockey but doesn’t play it,I say about ten games worth. As for the Canucks effort last night one word comes to mind,sad. I was quite amazed that these NHLers could be so easily puck mesmerized and totally forget defensive zone coverage basics, oh heck just about any basics necessary to stay in the league. If this isn’t corrected soon Canuck fans are not going to have a fun year.
Posted by Greg Gates from abbotsford on 10/11/07 at 12:09 PM ET
Being that Kesler got back up, I think the suspension will be lower if he had been injured worse. I’d like to think that the NHL would still hand out a worse penalty, and if they do, Boulerice might have grounds to appeal the punishment for at least a few less games.
Hope I’m wrong. I’d like to see him gone for 20 games.
Posted by John Bollwitt from vancouver, bc on 10/11/07 at 12:12 PM ET
Vancouver, Vancouver...oh, yes, the team with the green and blue jerseys.
Sorry, I’m afraid I don’t remember Vancouver playing a game last night. Must have had an off day for practice, I suppose. 
(All else fails--denial never does!)
Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 10/11/07 at 12:30 PM ET
I watched the game hoping to see the Flyers get smacked down. Uh-oh. I’m with Baroque, I was just having a really bad dream, right?
Posted by hockeychic from Denver, CO on 10/11/07 at 01:23 PM ET
Baroque - I think you and I suffer from the same amnesia. Some coworkers tried to get me going this morning and I denied doing anything last night except going home and going straight to bed! The sky isn’t falling...yet.
Posted by Trini on 10/11/07 at 01:38 PM ET
Just thought this was kinda interesting (copied from Boulerice’s wikipedia page)
“He [Boulerice]was charged with assault in 1998 while playing with the Plymouth Whalers after a violent stick swinging incident with Guelph Storm forward Andrew Long”
Perhaps the league will look at this when handing out his punishment.
Posted by Johan from Cambridge, UK on 10/11/07 at 02:44 PM ET
Crap.
This was the first game of the Season I attended.
I want a refund.
Posted by Karina on 10/11/07 at 02:58 PM ET
Shannon sent down to Manitoba. I know he was -4, but the guy is the only dangerous player it seems we have. Kind of surprising he got dumped over Raymond.
Posted by Jeff on 10/11/07 at 02:58 PM ET
Hey RU Reddy...it’s KESLER and COOKE. I see English and proper grammar aren’t some of your finer points. Perhaps they’ll teach you that in the next grade.
And whether or not your incredibly astute comment that Kesler is a “bit of a cheap artist” has any merit (which it doesn’t), the fact remains that Boulerice overreacted and he and his coach even admit that. So be sure to label the Flyers as a bunch of whiners too in your next highly anticipated illiterate and illogical post.
Posted by Mike on 10/11/07 at 03:39 PM ET
I agree with R. U. Reddy.
Boulerice was a disgrace last night, but Kesler does have a chippy side to his game. We didn’t see every exchange or hear the trash talk. It doesn’t excuse flagrant stick work like the cross-check we saw, but let’s face facts hockey is a game built on violence and intimidation, that’s why we love it.
Posted by Bully Beef from Canmore, AB on 10/11/07 at 06:52 PM ET
Hey Bullybeef, trash talking and jostling in front of the net, lining a guy up for a big hit.... That’s HOCKEY BABY....I didn’t watch the game on PPV, but I did see some of the high(low)lights that showed Kesler mixing it up. I don’t have a problem with any of what he did. He took a pretty good run at some dude just before he was assaulted..... but bodychecking is allowed in hockey. This isn’t a fairy sport like say soccer or basketball, this is HOCKEY.
HE BROKE HIS STICK ON HIS FACE?!?!?!?! If Downie got 20 for his hit, which would have been LEGAL if he didn’t leave his feet, then this clown deserves 40+. A stick is a lethal weapon… He broke his friggin stick on his face!
Posted by Ryan from BC on 10/11/07 at 08:03 PM ET
Just an update for everyone - not worth it’s own post for the moment so I thought I’d add it to the comments: [source]
Canucks center Ryan Kesler called for Philadelphia Flyers enforcer Jesse Boulerice to receive a 20-game suspension for crosschecking him in the head.Boulerice faces an automatic review by NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell after he received a match penalty and game misconduct for the incident in the third period of Philadelphia’s 8-2 victory in Vancouver on Wednesday night.
On Thursday, Kesler said the punishment should be on par with the record 20-game suspension that Flyers rookie Steve Downie received for leaving his feet and delivering a shoulder to the head of Ottawa’s Dean McAmmond in the preseason. The hit left McAmmond with a concussion. Downie is now in the minors.
Kesler said league officials need to do “something severe enough to scare guys from doing that.”
The 23-year-old center practiced Thursday and expects to play Friday when the Canucks face the Oilers in Edmonton. The swelling in Kesler’s right lip and jaw had subsided, but he still had some red marks on his face.
He did not receive an X-ray and had no plans to get one.
“I didn’t see him coming and he just took my head off,” said Kesler. “I think he has a reputation of doing that, so we’ll see what happens.”
Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 10/11/07 at 08:55 PM ET
I think there is an over-lap theme here. i think this is a message sent by flyers that they arent going to take any shit from nobody this year and they know how much of an joke NHL is when being consistant giving out suspendsions
Posted by FlyersFan on 10/11/07 at 10:50 PM ET
Our poor Canucks.
37 years old, never kissed a girl!
Posted by Robin from Whistler on 10/12/07 at 03:35 PM ET
Unbelievable 25 game suspension for what Paul Holmgren used to do several times a year during his career.
Wow, it looks like guys like Ron McLean, Bob McKenzie (not his brother Doug) and other talking head media idiots will feel vilified as if they are partially running NHL hockey. Because there are more and more media experts? out there they have to justify there existence somehow. There has been a push for years now by the media to identify things they want to change in the game, and then they go about spouting off until people start believing these are real issues.
10 games would have been more than sufficient!
Posted by R. U. Reddy from Victoria on 10/12/07 at 04:29 PM ET
Add a Comment
Please limit embedded image or media size to 575 pixels wide.
Add your own avatar by joining Kukla's Korner, or logging in and uploading one in your member control panel.
Captchas bug you? Join KK or log in and you won't have to bother.
Most Recent Blog Posts
Wellwood Returning to Vancouver
In Defense of Dany Heatley (sort of)
Sedin’s Agent Not Optimistic About a Vancouver Deal, but is Anyone?
Mike Keenan Joins the Canucks?
GM Place Keeps its Name; Disaster Averted
What’s Trevor Linden Been Up To?
About Canucks & Beyond
Alanah McGinley has been blogging hockey since 2003, sharing opinions, rants and not-so-deep thoughts with anyone who will listen. In addition to writing Canucks & Beyond and helping manage Kukla’s Korner, Alanah is one of the founders and co-hosts of The Crazy Canucks Podcast, as featured at Canucks.com.
She has contributed pieces to FoxSports.com and the New York Times Slapshot blog, as well as other stray destinations in cyberspace.
Email:
Alanah’s Twitter: Not really hockey-ish. [LINK]
Other Canucks Blogs
Good point on the dropping of the gloves Alanah, I thought the same thing. I see more cross checks like that (most are to the back though) where the player has his hands closer together than would be for a straight cross like they’re undecided how they want to push the player but still expose the stick. He should definitely be suspended and it will probably be 15-20 games I would imagine.
Posted by philduba from New Jersey on 10/11/07 at 07:16 AM ET