The Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens met on Thursday night for the first time since defenseman Zdeno Chara checked Max Pacioretty into the boards, giving him a broken vertebrae and concussion. The check by Chara had no malicious intent, but it just happened in an awful spot on the ice resulting in a horrible injury.
The city of Montreal and its fans were so blinded by their love and desire to defend their player they lost all sense of rationality. They flooded local police demanding an investigation into the Chara hit. NHL sponsor Air Canada threatened to pull its sponsorship of the league if a punishment weren’t doled out. All the while the league office stood firm by its decision not to suspend Zdeno Chara after distinguishing between process and result.
The Bruins spanked the Canadiens on Thursday 7-0 in a game that reflected who was right and who was wrong in the situation. Zdeno Chara assisted on the first two Boston goals and had three assists in all. His strong play, and that of the Bruins, convinces me that justice was done and the right actions were taken by the NHL.
We used to have a saying when I played pickup basketball games during the glory days of elementary school that “Ball Don’t Lie.” The saying, which has been uttered multiple times by Rasheed Wallace and spawned an NBA blog, means that who was right and wrong in a dispute is manifested by the play on the court. For instance, if there’s an argument over a foul or who touched the ball last, the next team that scores or screws up shows which side was right in the disagreement.
So what does that all mean for the Bruins? Chara was not suspended for his hit, Montreal went overboard and embellished the injury, and then Boston beat them 7-0. Like I said, puck don’t lie.
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Elise Amendola
