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Category: Hockey Night in Canada

  • TXHT Opinion: Ron MacLean Announces End of “Coach’s Corner”

    TXHT Opinion: Ron MacLean Announces End of “Coach’s Corner”

    As a follow-up to my previous article about the firing of Don Cherry from Hockey Night in Canada, his former cohost of the “Coach’s Corner” Ron MacLean, announced last night that going forward there will be no more “Coach’s Corner”. Last Saturday night on the now former segment, former commentator Don Cherry made disparaging remarks about immigrants in Canada who don’t wear the Canadian poppy as Canada’s Remembrance Day was quickly approaching. The holiday was celebrated this past Monday and Cherry was fired on the holiday for which his divisive comments were about. Besides announcing the end of Coach’s Corner, Ron MacLean lent us the audiences his thoughts on Cherry’s firing and his in the moment inaction of the displeasing comments that were being made. You can see and hear Ron MacLean’s comments on the situation below:

     

    My Reaction:

    First of all, I will commend Ron MacLean for being willing to sit there on live television (with no teleprompter and just his raw emotions) and face the music to discuss what happened a week ago. At the same time, the segment seemed very awkward and the apology appeared to be very scattered. I will say he did seem very remorseful and sad about what had happened and his inaction within the moment while Don Cherry was making his very crude remarks. The reality is, Ron MacLean should have disavowed Cherry’s comments while it was happening but unfortunately he didn’t. However, there is one part of the segment I wish MacLean would’ve taken things a step further to disavow Cherry’s comments.

    MacLean should have explained why he decided to “go one way” and discuss why Don Cherry’s comments were completely and utterly unacceptable. You have to be able to put your friendships aside at times and call your friends out when they are wrong. It doesn’t help the person to change or see what they did wrong when you don’t hold them accountable. 

  • TXHT Opinion: Sportsnet fires Don Cherry from Hockey Night in Canada

    TXHT Opinion: Sportsnet fires Don Cherry from Hockey Night in Canada

    On Saturday night while on his usual “Coach’s Corner” on Hockey Night in Canada, commentator Don Cherry made some very displeasing & uncomfortable comments about immigrants in Canada. Cherry used his “Coach’s Corner” segment to publicly criticize immigrants who didn’t wear poppy pins while leading up to Canada’s Remembrance Day. These poppy pins are sold by military veterans groups and are they are worn in honor of those who served in the Canadian military.

    Don Cherry used the following language Saturday night during his “Coach’s Corner” segment about immigrants below as well as a video to better hear and see the context of what was said:

    “I live in Mississauga [Ontario]. Very few people wear the poppy. Downtown Toronto, forget it. Nobody wears the poppy…. Now you go to the small cities. You people … that come here, whatever it is — you love our way of life. You love our milk and honey. At least you can pay a couple bucks for a poppy or something like that. These guys paid for your way of life that you enjoy in Canada. These guys paid the biggest price for that,” Cherry said.

     

     

    His words caused a big uprising around social media with many people calling for Don Cherry to be fired. Coach’s Corner” co-host Ron MacLean noticeably during the segment remained silent to these uncomfortable words and was even seen giving his thumbs up approval of what Cherry was saying. Since then, MacLean has released a statement through Sportnet as well as publicly apologizing live on Sportsnet’s “Hometown Hockey” last night for his behavior during the segment below:

     

    Sportsnet has since released a statement about the firing of Don Cherry also seen below:

     

    My take on the firing/Ron MacLean:

    To be 100% honest, Don Cherry should have been fired a long time ago. This is not the first time Cherry has used vulgar, displeasing, and/or uncomfortable words about immigrants and especially European NHL players. Unfortunately, the language which he’s been using for years has been given a blind eye to and it should not be a surprise that it was done on Saturday night. In particular, he has been very well known and critical of NHL players from Russia specifically calling out players such as Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov, amongst others as well. His views and mindset on today’s modern NHL are very outdated as well, and it was time for him to move on.

    The main point here is that Don Cherry was let go for using inappropriate language about immigrants and he needed to finally be held accountable for his actions. It took too long unfortunately to do so. The language that was used by him was very divisive when it shouldn’t be. Hockey and sports in general are meant to be the best of us all and bring fans of the game and human beings together and not divide us. It’s very sad that he made comments like these and he still has these kinds of viewpoints. He even doubled down on his comments as he briefly spoke to the Toronto Sun by stating “I have had my say”. The simple fact that he didn’t want to look at what he said was inappropriate and take responsibility for his actions shows that it was the correct decision to fire him and finally move on.

    As for cohost Ron MacLean, it was very disappointing that he stood there silent while Cherry was making the remarks and even gave his thumbs up. However, I am happy that he came out rather quickly to apologize and seemed very humble and genuine about his apology and about what transpired on Saturday night. Hopefully, he learned from this and he’s never a part of something like this again. Otherwise, like Don Cherry he’ll need to be held accountable too.

  • Boston Bruins vs Toronto Maple Leafs – Round 1 – Game #7 Recap

    Boston Bruins vs Toronto Maple Leafs – Round 1 – Game #7 Recap

    Boston Bruins (4-3) v. Toronto Maple Leafs (3-3)

     

    Game Recap:

    The Bruins came from the first puck drop and got a couple of goals in the first courtesy of Joakim Nordstrom and Marcus Johansson and just continued to play solid defense through the rest of the period. Not giving many chances to the Leafs offense.

    Second period the Leafs came strong and gave it all they and they got rewarded with a goal from John Tavares.  Outshooting and outplaying the Bruins but couldn’t tie the game.

    The third period brought some coaching mistakes and on ice mistakes courtesy of William Nylander. The Bruins would score quick thanks to Sean Kuraly and then would score 2 empty net goals. This would seal their entry to round 2.

    Lineups:

    Toronto:

    Andreas Johnsson – Auston Matthews – Kasperi Kapanen

    Mitch Marner – John Tavares – Zach Hyman

    Patrick Marleau – William Nylander– Connor Brown

    Tyler Ennis – Frederik Gauthier – Trevor Moore

     

    Morgan Rielly  – Ron Hainsey

    Jake Muzzin – Nikita Zaitsev

    Travis Dermott – Jake Gardiner

     

    Frederik Andersen

    Garrett Sparks

     

    Scratched: none

    Injuries: Nathan Horton (Back)

    Suspension: Nazem Kadri (5-5)

     

    Boston:

    Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak

    Jake DeBrusk — David Krejci — Karson Kuhlman

    Danton Heinen — Charlie Coyle — Joakim Nordstrom

    Sean Kuraly – David Backes – Noel Acciari

     

    Zdeno Chara — Charlie McAvoy

    Brandon Carlo — Torey Krug

    Matt Grzelcyk — John Moore

     

    Tuukka Rask

    Jaroslav Halak

    Scratched: Steve Kampfer

    Injuries: Kevan Miller (upper body)

    Suspension: None

    GameDay:

    First Period:

    Boston Goal – 14:29- Joakim Nordstrom (2) assisted by Matt Grzelcyk (4) and Sean Kuraly (1)

    Boston Goal – 17:46- Marcus Johansson (1) unassisted

    End of 1st – TOR – 0     BOS – 2

    Shots              12              11

    Faceoffs       13/28            15/28

    Hits              12                 9

    PP                 0/0                 0/0

    Second Period:

    Toronto Goal – 3:54- John Tavares (2) assisted by Tyler Ennis (2)

    Boston Penalty – 8:22 – Brandon Carlo, 2 minutes for Cross Checking

    End of 2nd – TOR- 1      BOS- 2

    Shots               25                19

    Faceoffs         20/46         26/46

    Hits                 25                  15

    PP                   0/1                 0/0

    Third Period:

    Boston Goal – 2:40 – Sean Kuraly(1) assisted Noel Acciari (1) and Joakim Nordstrom (1)

    Boston EN Goal – 17:26 – Charlie Coyle (3) assisted David Krejci (3)

    Boston EN Goal – 19:59 – Patrice Bergeron (3) unassisted

    End of 3rd – TOR – 1         BOS – 5

    Shots            33                  32

    Faceoffs     30/60               30/60

    Hits               32                   26

    PP                 0/2                    0/0

     

  • Boston Bruins vs Toronto Maple Leafs – Round 1 – Game #6 Recap

    Boston Bruins vs Toronto Maple Leafs – Round 1 – Game #6 Recap

    Boston Bruins (2-3) v. Toronto Maple Leafs (3-2)

     

    Game Recap:

    The Leafs came out flying in the first ten minutes and were paid back by a one-timer goal by Morgan Rielly. The Leafs would get themselves into penalty trouble and it would put the Leafs in a hole 2-1 courtesy of goals by Brad Marchand and Torey Krug.

    The second period would deepen the hole thanks to Jake DeBrusk goal. Frederik Andersen stood his head and held the Leafs in the game, with some spectacular saves.

    The Leafs would dominate the third and get rewarded with an Auston Matthews goal, only to have an empty netter by Brad Marchand ruin the chance at a comeback.

    Lineups:

    Toronto:

    Andreas Johnsson – Auston Matthews – Kasperi Kapanen

    Mitch Marner – John Tavares – Zach Hyman

    Patrick Marleau – William Nylander– Connor Brown

    Tyler Ennis – Frederik Gauthier – Trevor Moore

     

    Morgan Rielly  – Ron Hainsey

    Jake Muzzin – Nikita Zaitsev

    Travis Dermott – Jake Gardiner

     

    Frederik Andersen

    Garrett Sparks

     

    Scratched: none

    Injuries: Nathan Horton (Back)

    Suspension: Nazem Kadri (3-5)

     

    Boston:

    Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak

    Jake DeBrusk — David Krejci — Karson Kuhlman

    Danton Heinen — Charlie Coyle — Chris Wagner

    Sean Kuraly – David Backes – Noel Acciari

     

    Zdeno Chara — Charlie McAvoy

    Brandon Carlo — Torey Krug

    Matt Grzelcyk — John Moore

     

    Tuukka Rask

    Jaroslav Halak

    Scratched: Steve Kampfer

    Injuries: Kevan Miller (upper body)

    Suspension: None

    GameDay:

    First Period:

    Boston Penalty – 5:21 – Zdeno Chara, 2 minutes for Delay of Game

    Toronto Goal – 11:23- Morgan Rielly (1) assisted by William Nylander (2) and Patrick Marleau (2)

    Toronto Penalty – 10:25 – Tyler Ennis, 2 minutes for Holding

    Boston PP Goal – 11:23- Brad Marchand (3) assisted by Patrice Bergeron (2)

    Boston Penalty – 12:37 – Joakim Nordstrom, 2 minutes for Tripping

    Toronto Penalty – 15:36 – Travis Dermott, 2 minutes for Tripping

    Boston PP Goal – 17:02- Torey Krug (1) assisted by David Pastrnak (3) and Brad Marchand (5)

    End of 1st – BOS – 2     TOR – 1

    Shots              13              6

    Faceoffs       13/21            8/21

    Hits              13                 8

    PP                 2/2                 0/2

    Second Period:

    Boston Penalty – 8:47 – Charlie Coyle, 2 minutes for Tripping

    Boston Goal – 7:57- Jake DeBrusk (1) assisted by David Krejci (2) and David Pastrnak (4)

    End of 2nd – BOS- 3      TOR- 1

    Shots               30                15

    Faceoffs         23/40         17/40

    Hits                 22                  29

    PP                   2/2                 0/3

    Third Period:

    Toronto Goal – 4:15- Auston Matthews (5) assisted by Jake Gardiner(2) and Travis Dermott (2)

    Boston Goal – 18:06 – Brad Marchand (4) assisted Zdeno Chara (1) and Charlie McAvoy (2)

    End of 3rd – BOS – 3         TOR – 2

    Shots            41                  24

    Faceoffs     30/58               28/58

    Hits               34                    40

    PP                 2/2                    0/3

  • Boston Bruins vs Toronto Maple Leafs – Round 1 – Game #5 Recap

    Boston Bruins vs Toronto Maple Leafs – Round 1 – Game #5 Recap

    Boston Bruins (2-2) v. Toronto Maple Leafs (2-2)

     

    Game Recap:

    The Leafs knew they needed to come out and be strong in the first 10 minutes of the first and that’s exactly what they did. The period would even out and remain 0-0. The Leafs penalty kill is seemingly more aggressive and clogging up the neutral zone better.

    The second period would be much of the same but the Bruins would have more chances but the Leaf played a confident defensive game and patient offensively but aggressive when they get in the zone. Good cycle game and puck movement.

    The 3rd would come the Leafs way after finally getting powerplay the Leafs seemed to pick up their play. An Auston Matthews goal on a slick feed from Jake Muzzin gave them a 1-0 lead and they just kept coming. Less than 2 minutes later the Leafs Kasperi Kapanen would blast home a beautiful pass by Andreas Johnsson. The Leafs would then have to stave off a flurry of shots from Boston in the final few of minutes. David Krejci would score with 43 seconds left but the Leafs would hold on from there and take a 3-2 series lead heading back to Toronto.

    Lineups:

    Toronto:

    Andreas Johnsson – Auston Matthews – Kasperi Kapanen

    Mitch Marner – John Tavares – Zach Hyman

    Patrick Marleau – William Nylander– Connor Brown

    Tyler Ennis – Frederik Gauthier – Trevor Moore

     

    Morgan Rielly  – Ron Hainsey

    Jake Muzzin – Nikita Zaitsev

    Travis Dermott – Jake Gardiner

     

    Frederik Andersen

    Garrett Sparks

     

    Scratched: none

    Injuries: Nathan Horton (Back)

    Suspension: Nazem Kadri (3-5)

     

    Boston:

    Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak

    Jake DeBrusk — David Krejci — Karson Kuhlman

    Danton Heinen — Charlie Coyle — Chris Wagner

    Sean Kuraly – David Backes – Noel Acciari

     

    Zdeno Chara — Charlie McAvoy

    Brandon Carlo — Torey Krug

    Matt Grzelcyk — John Moore

     

    Tuukka Rask

    Jaroslav Halak

    Scratched: Steve Kampfer

    Injuries: Kevan Miller (upper body)

    Suspension: None

    GameDay:

    First Period:

    Toronto Penalty – 17:00 – Zach Hyman, 2 minutes for Tripping

    End of 1st – TOR – 0     BOS – 0

    Shots              7               6

    Faceoffs       9/14            5/14

    Hits              11                 14

    PP                 0/0                 0/1

    Second Period:

    Toronto Penalty – 4:13 – Patrick Marleau, 2 minutes for Hooking

    Toronto Penalty – 8:24 – Mitch Marner, 2 minutes for Delay of Game

    End of 2nd – TOR- 0       BOS- 0

    Shots               16                15

    Faceoffs         15/35         20/35

    Hits                 21                  21

    PP                   0/0                 0/3

    Third Period:

    Boston Penalty – 7:14 – Bench Minor, 2 minutes for Too Many Men On Ice

    Toronto Goal – 11:33- Auston Matthews (4) assisted by Jake Muzzin (2) and Kasperi Kapanen (1)

    Toronto Goal – 13:45- Kasperi Kapanen (1) assisted by Andreas Johnsson (3) and Morgan Rielly (4)

    Boston Goal – 19:16 – David Krejci (2) assisted David Pastrnak (2) and Torey Krug (3)

    End of 3rd – TOR – 2         BOS – 1

    Shots             27                   29

    Faceoffs     22/62               40/62

    Hits               36                    29

    PP                 0/1                    0/3

     

  • Boston Bruins vs Toronto Maple Leafs – Round 1 – Game #4 Recap

    Boston Bruins vs Toronto Maple Leafs – Round 1 – Game #4 Recap

    Boston Bruins (2-2) v. Toronto Maple Leafs (2-2)

     

    Game Recap:

    The Leafs looked fine as the game started but soon got into penalty trouble. That’s where the Bruins took over scoring once on the powerplay and then scoring a few minutes later again to jump out to a quick 2-0. With just over 2 minutes left in the 1st period, Morgan Rielly took a shot from the point and it was tipped on the way in by Zach Hyman the shot would beat Rask and make a 2-1 game.

    The second period would see Auston Matthews score quickly to tie it up but as the period progressed the Leafs would watch David Pastrnak get himself involved in the series scoring two goals to make it 4-2 Boston.

    The 3rd would bring some dramatics Boston would score first making it 5-2 and basically put the Leafs out of reach or so they thought. The Leafs would come back with a Matthews Powerplay goal and a Dermott blast from the point to make it a 5-4 game and then put tremendous pressure on the Bruins but couldn’t cash in. Nordstrom would score on the open net to make 6-4 with seven seconds remaining.

    Lineups:

    Toronto:

    Andreas Johnsson – Auston Matthews – Kasperi Kapanen

    Mitch Marner – John Tavares – Zach Hyman

    Patrick Marleau – William Nylander– Connor Brown

    Tyler Ennis – Frederik Gauthier – Trevor Moore

     

    Morgan Rielly  – Ron Hainsey

    Jake Muzzin – Nikita Zaitsev

    Travis Dermott – Jake Gardiner

     

    Frederik Andersen

    Garrett Sparks

     

    Scratched: none

    Injuries: Nathan Horton (Back)

    Suspension: Nazem Kadri (2-5)

     

    Boston:

    Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak

    Jake DeBrusk — David Krejci — Karson Kuhlman

    Danton Heinen — Charlie Coyle — Chris Wagner

    David Backes — Joakim Nordstrom — Noel Acciari

     

    Zdeno Chara — Charlie McAvoy

    Brandon Carlo — Torey Krug

    Matt Grzelcyk — John Moore

     

    Tuukka Rask

    Jaroslav Halak

    Scratched: Steve Kampfer

    Injuries: Sean Kuraly (shoulder), Kevan Miller (upper body) and Marcus Johansson

    Suspension: None

    GameDay:

    First Period:

    Toronto Penalty – 1:08 – Connor Brown, 2 minutes for Holding

    Boston PP Goal – 3:03 – Charlie McAvoy (1) assisted Charlie Coyle (1) and Matt Grzelcyk (3)

    Boston Goal – 6:38 – Brad Marchand (2) assisted Charlie McAvoy (1) and Dalton Heinen (2)

    Boston Penalty – 13:29 – Patrice Bergeron, 2 minutes for Interference

    Toronto Goal – 17:55 – Zach Hyman (1) assisted by Morgan Rielly (2) and John Tavares (3)

    Boston Penalty – 15:44 – Charlie McAvoy, 2 minutes for Interference

    End of 1st – BOS – 2      TOR – 1

    Shots              14                12

    Faceoffs       9/19            10/19

    Hits              13                 16

    PP                 1/1                 0/2

    Second Period:

    Toronto Goal – 1:07 – Auston Matthews (2) assisted by Andreas Johnsson (2) and Ron Hainsey (1)

    Boston Goal – 3:16 – David Pastrnk (1) assisted Brad Marchand (3) and Patrice Bergeron (1)

    Boston PP Goal – 3:16 – David Pastrnk (2) assisted Brad Marchand (4)

    Toronto Penalty – 4:37 – Auston Matthews, 2 minutes for Roughing

    End of 2nd – BOS- 4       TOR- 2

    Shots               22                26

    Faceoffs         21/39         18/39

    Hits                 20                  8

    PP                   2/2                 0/2

    Third Period:

    Boston Goal – 5:39 – Zdeno Chara (1) unassisted

    Boston Penalty – 11:42 – Charlie McAvoy, 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Toronto PP Goal – 11:52- Auston Matthews (2) assisted by Mitch Marner (2) and Morgan Rielly (3)

    Toronto Goal – 13:27- Travis Dermott (1) assisted by Jake Gardiner (1) and Connor Brown (1)

    Boston EN Goal – 19:58 – Joakim Nordstrom (1) assisted Krejci (1)

    End of 3rd – BOS – 6         TOR – 4

    Shots             31                   42

    Faceoffs     33/63                23/63

    Hits               33                    37

    PP                 2/2                    1/3

     

  • Boston Bruins vs Toronto Maple Leafs – Round 1 – Game #3 Recap

    Boston Bruins vs Toronto Maple Leafs – Round 1 – Game #3 Recap

    Boston Bruins (1-2) v. Toronto Maple Leafs (2-1)

     

    Game Recap:

    The Leafs settled back into a groove offensively and defensively, being able to manage the game appropriately. Leafs forward Auston Matthews showed he has some fire in game and came to play scoring a goal and an assist, while Andreas Johnsson cashed in with the same.

    The fourth line of the Leafs Trevor Moore – Frederik Gauthier and Tyler Ennis gave the Bruins fits all night. Trevor Moore cashed in the first goal of the game to begin the scoring in the second. Bruins forward David Krejci scored less than 60 seconds later to tie the game. Leafs would respond with Matthews and Johnsson goals in the second and Boston responded with a Charlie Coyle goal with 38 seconds to go in the period. The 3rd period would be shutdown period for the Leafs. Mitch Marner would make two huge blocks at the end of the game, to show that he’s the heart and soul of this Leafs team.

    Lineups:

    Toronto:

    Andreas Johnsson – Auston Matthews – Kasperi Kapanen

    Mitch Marner – John Tavares – Zach Hyman

    Patrick Marleau – William Nylander– Connor Brown

    Tyler Ennis – Frederik Gauthier – Trevor Moore

     

    Morgan Rielly  – Ron Hainsey

    Jake Muzzin – Nikita Zaitsev

    Travis Dermott – Jake Gardiner

     

    Frederik Andersen

    Garrett Sparks

     

    Scratched: none

    Injuries: Nathan Horton (Back)

    Suspension: Nazem Kadri (1-5)

     

    Boston:

    Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak

    Jake DeBrusk — David Krejci — Karson Kuhlman

    Danton Heinen — Charlie Coyle — Chris Wagner

    David Backes — Joakim Nordstrom — Noel Acciari

     

    Zdeno Chara — Charlie McAvoy

    Brandon Carlo — Torey Krug

    Matt Grzelcyk — Steven Kampfer

     

    Tuukka Rask

    Jaroslav Halak

    Scratched: None

    Injuries: Sean Kuraly (shoulder) and John Moore (Upper-Body), Kevan Miller (upper body) and Marcus Johansson

    Suspension: None

    GameDay:

    First Period:

    Toronto Penalty – 16:36 – Ron Hainsey, 2 minutes for Interference

    Boston Penalty – 19:21 – Charlie McAvoy, 2 minutes for Holding the Stick

    End of 1st – BOS – 0      TOR – 0

    Shots              13                11

    Faceoffs       11/22            11/22

    Hits              11                 14

    PP                 0/1                 0/1

    Second Period:

    Toronto Goal – 2:38 – Trevor Moore (1) assisted by Morgan Rielly (1) and Tyler Ennis (1)

    Boston Goal – 3:30 – David Krejci (1) assisted Jake DeBrusk (1) and Karson Kuhlman (1)

    Boston Penalty – 10:00 – David Backes, 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Toronto PP Goal – 10:12 – Auston Matthews (1) assisted by Andreas Johnsson (1) and Mitch Marner (1)

    Boston Penalty – 15:59 – Matt Grzelcyk, 2 minutes for Hooking

    Toronto PP Goal – 17:12 – Andreas Johnsson (1) assisted by John Tavares (2) and Auston Matthews (1)

    Toronto Penalty – 17:45 – Jake Muzzin, 2 minutes for Holding

    Boston PP Goal – 19:22 – Charlie Coyle (2) assisted Danton Heinen (1) and Matt Grzelcyk(2)

    End of 2nd – BOS- 2        TOR- 3

    Shots               26                22

    Faceoffs          22/44         22/44

    Hits                 22                  28

    PP                   1/2                  2/3

    Third Period:

    Toronto Penalty – 5:01 – Nikita Zaitsev, 2 minutes for Delay of Game

    End of 3rd – BOS – 2         TOR – 3

    Shots             36                   34

    Faceoffs     28/63                35/63

    Hits               33                   42

    PP                 1/3                    2/3

     

  • Toronto Maple Leafs vs Boston Bruins – Round 1 – Game #2 Recap

    Toronto Maple Leafs vs Boston Bruins – Round 1 – Game #2 Recap

    Toronto Maple Leafs (1-1) v. Boston Bruins (1-1)

     

    Game Recap:

    Boston came out flying as they were expected too in game #2. Boston began by not only dominating in the shot column but by putting some serious physical pressure on the Leafs. Soon the physicality turned into some questionable hits and ruckus on both sides and the game began to swing to the old games between the Bruins and Leafs were it was an all-out brawl. Jake Debrusk of the Boston Bruins made a couple questionable plays including what looked to be an intentional knee on knee with Leafs forward Nazem Kadri and also bloodied Leafs Travis Dermott earlier in the game with an Elbow to the nose both went uncalled and seemed to fuel the rivalry. Leafs Defensemen Jake Muzzin was bloodied on a charging call by Boston Forward David Pastrnak, and later on, Muzzin cleanly-hit defensemen Torey Krug who unfortunately had his head down on the play and looked bad, he never returned to the game and has a history of concussion issues.  Bruins defencemen also left the game with an injury and never returned, unknown reasoning a far as we know. Charlie Coyle opened the scoring to get the crowd into the game and Marchand made it 2-0 just before the end of the 1st.  William Nylander made a massive gaff, just as the Leafs look to be getting their legs a bit, which led to the Danton Heinen goal. Kadri gave the Leafs some hope in the 3rd scoring to make it 3-1 but then later Kadri himself would seal the win for the Bruins when after Patrick Marleau was cleanly checked into the stansion by Jake DeBrusk. Kadri would take matters into his own hands and cross-check Debrusk to the head, resulting in a 5-minute powerplay to end the game and the big possibility of an impending suspension for Nazem Kadri.

    Lineups:

    Toronto:

    Andreas Johnsson – Auston Matthews – Kasperi Kapanen

    Mitch Marner – John Tavares – Zach Hyman

    Patrick Marleau – Nazem Kadri – William Nylander

    Tyler Ennis – Frederik Gauthier – Trevor Moore

     

    Morgan Rielly  – Ron Hainsey

    Jake Muzzin – Nikita Zaitsev

    Martin Marincin – Igor Ozhiganov

     

    Frederik Andersen

    Garrett Sparks

     

    Scratched: none

    Injuries: Nathan Horton (Back)

    Suspension: None

     

    Boston:

    Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak

    Jake DeBrusk — David Krejci — Karson Kuhlman

    Danton Heinen — Charlie Coyle — Chris Wagner

    David Backes — Joakim Nordstrom — Noel Acciari

     

    Zdeno Chara — Charlie McAvoy

    Brandon Carlo — Torey Krug

    Matt Grzelcyk — Connor Clifton

     

    Tuukka Rask

    Jaroslav Halak

    Scratched:  Steven Kampfer, Marcus Johansson

    Injuries: Sean Kuraly (shoulder) and John Moore (Upper-Body), Kevan Miller (upper body)

    Suspension: None

    GameDay:

    First Period:

    Boston Goal – 4:44 – Charlie Coyle (2) assisted by David Backes (1)

    Boston Penalty – 11:12 – Jake DeBrusk, 2 minutes for Roughing

    Toronto Penalty – 11:12 – Nazem Kadri, 2 minutes for Roughing

    Boston Goal – 16:04 – Brad Marchand (1) assisted by David Pastrnak (1) and Torey Krug (2)

    Boston Penalty – 18:57 – David Pastrnak, 2 minutes for Charging

    End of 1st – TOR – 2       BOS – 0

    Shots              5                12

    Faceoffs         8/15            7/15

    Hits              13                 15

    PP                 0/1                 0/0

    Second Period:

    Boston Goal – 10:39 – Danton Heinen (1) unassisted

    Toronto Penalty – 12:22 – Frederik Gauthier, 2 minutes for Roughing

    Boston Penalty – 15:32 – Zdeno Chara, 2 minutes for Delay of Game

    Toronto Penalty – 16:52 – Nazem Kadri, 2 minutes for Hooking

     

    End of 2nd – TOR- 0        BOS- 3

    Shots               18                32

    Faceoffs          17/31          14/31

    Hits                 26                  30

    PP                   0/2                  0/2

    Third Period:

    Boston Penalty – 5:36 – David Krejci, 2 minutes for Roughing

    Toronto Goal – 10:49 – Nazem Kadri (1) assisted by Travis Dermott (1) and William Nylander (1)

    Boston PP Goal – 15:03 – Patrice Bergeron (2) assisted by Brad Marchand (2) and Matt Grzelcyk (1)

    Toronto Penalty – 14:03 – Nazem Kadri, 5 minutes for Cross Checking (Major)

    Toronto Penalty – 14:03 – Nazem Kadri, 10 minutes for Game Misconduct

     

    End of 3rd – TOR – 1         BOS – 4

    Shots             31                   41

    Faceoffs    26/47                21/47

    Hits               39                    44

    PP                 0/3                    1/4

     

  • Don Cherry Doesn’t Like Fun

    Don Cherry Doesn’t Like Fun

    As everyone knows Hockey Night in Canada is a staple for hockey fans every Saturday night, and not just for the hockey, but for the intermission segments. While we here at TXHT love Saturday Headlines for the insider knowledge that is shared with us, it’s Coach’s Corner featuring Don Cherry that always seems to spark a lot of conversation.

     

    Well Don has done it again to get us talking. This time by going after something that everyone loves to do in hockey, and that’s celebrating… again.

     

    For the third time now, Cherry has gone after Washington Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov for his Kuzy Bird goal celebration that he does for his daughter, but for Don Cherry that makes Kuznetsov a “jerk”, and Cherry made such a claim last night saying it is “Hockey Karma” that the Capitals lost to Tampa Bay on Wednesday night because Kuznetsov pulled out the celebration after tying the game in the final minutes to send it to overtime.

     

    Cherry has also made such claims against the Carolina Hurricanes who have been doing their Storm Surge victory celebrations after the game is over at home, to the entertainment of the fans. Cherry even went as far as calling the Hurricanes a “Bunch of Jerks” which the Hurricanes adopted and made a part of their marketing to the fans delight.

     

    At the end of the day all we can say is this. Don Cherry doesn’t like fun. He thinks everyone has to be “professional” and no one can do professional like the way Canadians can. Anything outside of a fist pump or shake is too much for celebrating goals, and that right there proves that Cherry just doesn’t get it and won’t evolve with the times.

     

    The NHL values entertainment, and that’s what Evgeny Kuznetsov and the Carolina Hurricanes are providing, despite Cherry’s feelings or views. The celebrations are great for marketing, attracting new fans, and most importantly, putting butts in seats at the games.

     

    Personally I make a point to watch Coach’s Corner and Saturday Headlines, which is the better of the two, and it’s become clear that Don Cherry is not capable of being a true ambassador to the game and needs to be replaced. Cherry can still give you a gem or two every now and then, but you can tell he is not accepting to today’s NHL. But at least he’s given us some cool marketing this season.

     

    Also, did anyone tell Cherry that Kuznetsov had another reason to do the Kuzy Bird besides for his daughter?