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BHN Daily: Sid The Kid Sounds Off On NHL Inconsistency

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Boston Bruins

Sidney Crosby is not happy, and when Sid isn’t happy everybody else across the NHL will know about it.

And the Pittsburgh Penguins superstar has good reason for some discontent after teammate Brandon Tanev was bounced from Tuesday night’s 2-1 loss to the Bruins with a game misconduct and a boarding major for his punishing hit on Jared Tinordi.

Some hockey fans were clamoring for a charging call on the play and clearly it was a terrible outcome with Tinordi slamming into the boards and suffered an injury that knocked him out of the game. But to this humble hockey writer the Tanev hit on Tinordi was a hard, clean hockey hit that was totally on time and within bounds.

It’s just unfortunate that an injury occurred on the play as Tinordi wasn’t able to brace for the big impact.

Clearly both Tanev and Crosby weren’t happy about the call that led to a five-minute power play for the Bruins, and Sid the Kid talked about it after the game.

“I didn’t think he had any intent there. I hope Tinordi is OK; he went in pretty awkward, but I don’t think there is any intent. I thought he hit him clean,” said Crosby, according to Pittsburgh Hockey Now.  “He hit him timely, as far as the puck being there.”

“I hope (Tinordi) is OK. I hope as players we get some clarity on what’s a good hit and what’s not. It’s tough to really gauge when you’re out there. I know it’s fast, but right now, it’s really hard to know what is, in fact, clean and what’s not. And when you’re out there playing, it’s important that you do know that.”

The hit was actually very similar to a play from a Bruins game a couple of weeks ago when Trent Frederic cleaned out youngster Alexis Lafreniere, and then barked “Who wants it!” to the entire New York Rangers bench immediately afterward. There was no penalty on the play and no injury as a result of the hard contact where Lafreniere slammed into the boards, and the play was very similar in just about every respect.

Perhaps it’s not surprising that Pierre Lambert was one of the referees on Tuesday night in Pittsburgh after he was one of the pair that botched Tom Wilson’s hit on Brandon Carlo and didn’t even call a penalty on a play where Wilson ended up getting suspended for seven games. Either way, though, Crosby and other NHL players would like a little more consistency when it comes to these controversial hits, and I can’t say I blame them at all.

On to the rest of the BHN Puck Links:

*Dan Vladar made an impressive statement in his first career NHL start as he made 34 saves and a dazzling highlight reel stop in a 2-1 win for the Bruins. (Boston Hockey Now)

*Stephen A. Smith getting excited about the NHL returning to ESPN should get everybody excited about the NHL returning to ESPN.

*Tough break for the Islanders as Anders Lee has been lost for the entire hockey season with an ACL injury. (NYI Hockey Now)

*FOH (Friend of Haggs) Mike Harrington gave a flying elbow to the Buffalo Sabres from the top turnbuckle on Tuesday, and the Sabres finally made the move firing coach Ralph Krueger on Wednesday. Power of the press for a move they should have made weeks ago. (Buffalo News)

*Speaking of the Sabres, Taylor Hall took this puck in the face last night and somehow returned to the game in the following period. Hockey players, man.

*Good move by the St. Louis Blues locking up goaltender Jordan Binnington to a six-year contract extension. (NBC)

*For something completely different: Is it true that Toys R Us is really coming back into stores near you? Say that it’s so. (IGN.com)

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