It was only three weeks ago that Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara checked Canadiens winger Max Pacioretty into the corner of the glass, fracturing his vertebrae and giving him a concussion (watch the video). The NHL did not suspend Chara for the hit, recognizing it was a legitimate hockey play that did not have malicious intent. That responses did not sit well with Montreal fans who essentially demanded a police investigation into the situation.
As Pacioretty continues to recover, the teams will meet on Thursday night in their rematch and there is little doubt Montreal will be seeking revenge. As if that’s not bad enough to ponder, there’s Mark Recchi’s comments which have added a new wrinkle to the situation.
The Bruins veteran winger joined The Sports Hub in Boston for an interview with a host who was convinced the Canadiens embellished the extent of Pacioretty’s concussion. Recchi completely agreed with that idea, as I learned from Goon’s World. In the interview, Recchi said “[Pacioretty] does obviously have a fractured vertebra, but the concussion is obviously really a non-factor. In maybe a day or two — maybe a day he felt it — but he was fine a couple days later. They were trying to get Zdeno suspended and they embellished it a little bit. In terms of that side, they’re doing whatever they could to get him suspended.”
Recchi noted how Pacioretty was tweeting from a movie less than a week later and said that was inconsistent behavior for someone who had a severe concussion. He could be right about his comments and it wouldn’t surprise me. The people of Montreal have acted so irrationally throughout this whole affair that would actually fit in with the way they’ve been doing things.
