Stars of the Night: CBJ @ Boston

Time to review the three stars of the night after a disappointing loss in Boston.

Third Star: DENNIS SEIDENBERG
This is the one star I have the most issue with tonight. Seidenberg logged 20 minutes of ice time and found a way to target Foligno’s head without the refs noticing and even parlayed it into a 2 minute minor and 10 minute misconduct for the guy you hit. Now that I type that out, that’s actually pretty impressive.

Second Star: DAVID KREJCI
Krejci had a strong game and got the A on two of the three Boston goals with 20 minutes of ice time as well. Krejci demonstrated what I like about Boston’s play. It’s physical, defensively sound and intense.

First Star: MILAN LUCIC
See my comments about what I like about Krejci’s play. Lucic played a strong game tonight, responsible for 2 of the goals, was physically engaged and had a spirited battle with Dalton Prout.

Stud: Dalton Prout
As the FoxSportsOhio broadcast crew pointed out (tip of the hat to @DanKamal), Prout could clearly be seen after his scrap with Lucic trying to get his team’s attention to get them back in the game. At the time the fight occurred, the CBJ were still very much in the game and it was impressive for a young player like Prout to recognize that and react the way he did. Honorable mention to Curtis McElhenney who went 33/36. Made some timely saves and kept the CBJ in the game but alas he couldn’t get any scoring support.

Dud: The Zebras
This has nothing to do with penalties. They happen. Sometimes they go your way, sometimes they don’t. I am going to bring up player safety. I keep hearing about how the NHL is doing everything they can ensure the game can be kept as safe as possible and preventing cheap shots or targeting of the head. With all of this chatter fresh in my head, seeing Foligno shake the cobwebs off after a skillful shoulder to chin hit from Seidenberg made me realize that all are created equal when it comes to protection in the NHL, some are just created more equal. Penalizing what I consider to be a pretty fair reaction with 2M plus the 10M misconduct was salt on the wound. I genuinely hope the NHL will take a look at this and use it as an opportunity to educate the refs. That said, don’t expect to see my face blue from holding my breath.