Tampa Bay Lightning forward Cedric Paquette has been suspended for one game for Boarding against Boston Bruins defenseman Torey Krug on Wednesday night in Boston.
There is definitely no love lost between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Boston Bruins. In fact, this rivalry even extends to fans of both teams. In other words, when these two teams meet at the center of the ice, it is almost a guarantee something is going to go down.
Things started out normal between the Lightning and Bruins on Wednesday night as the Lightning looked to pick up a much-needed two points and finish off their back-to-back series on the right track. Unfortunately, not only would victory not be in the cards for the Bolts, but they would suffer another loss as a result of the game.
Early in the second period of play, the Lightning would find themselves with a 2-0 deficit against the Bruins. Needless to say, it’s moments like this that cause teams to go into overdrive. Regrettably, this is also the time when players sometimes allow their drive to get the best of them and cause them to make questionable decisions.
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Just over two minutes into the second, Bruins defenseman Torey Krug chased the puck along the boards behind Bruins netminder Tuukka Rask. Noticing Krug had gained control of the puck, Lightning forward Cedric Paquette made the adjustment from in front of the net and pursued Krug along the boards.
As he gained control of the puck, Krug turned his back to Paquette and attempted to make his play alongside the boards. Paquette continued his pursuit and collided with Krug, sending him flying into the boards. It was this incident which caused the Lightning forward to be called to the carpet by the NHL Department of Player Safety.
As usual, there are two competing sides to this story. There are some who would argue Krug knew Paquette was in pursuit of him and he knowingly turned his back to the play, putting himself in a vulnerable position. At the same time, there are those who would argue Paquette had plenty of time to make a stop or adjust his trajectory, making the hit a safer one for all involved.
When all is said and done, there is only one opinion which matters; this would be the one of the NHL Department of Player Safety. Unfortunately for the Lightning, the opinion of Player Safety would not be in their favor in this particular incident.
The NHL Department of Player Safety announced yesterday Tampa Bay Lightning forward Cedric Paquette has been suspended for one game as a result of his Boarding of Bruins defenseman Torey Krug. While this is definitely not good news for the Lightning, things could have been much worse.
More than likely, the supplemental discipline against Paquette was only one game due to a couple of factors. The first of these factors is there was no serious injury sustained on the play. The second, and probably most important reason, is because Paquette has no history of fines or suspensions over the course of his career.
So, what does this mean for the Tampa Bay Lightning? Well, it means in addition to dealing with a couple of unforeseen injuries to players, the Bolts will have to take on the San Jose Sharks on Saturday night without the assistance of yet another player. Paquette will be eligible to rejoin the team on Tuesday night when they take on the New York Islanders at the Amalie Arena in Tampa.
Cedric Paquette has always been known as one of the more physical players on a team which not generally known for their physical prowess on the ice. Hockey fans would be hard-pressed to find a player who hasn’t made at least one questionable decision over the course of their career. This particular questionable decision just happened to come with some dire consequences for the 24-year-old Lightning forward.
As mentioned previously, the Tampa Bay Lightning has another challenge waiting for them just around the corner. Tomorrow night, the Lightning will head home after a long road trip to take on the San Jose Sharks. The Lightning has been in quite the slump as of late, and will more than likely look to get back on the right track in front of their hometown fans.
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It’ll be interesting to see how the team responds with all the necessary changes to the lineup thanks to not only Paquette’s suspension but a number of injuries plaguing the team at this moment. Hopefully, Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper will be able to utilize the talent he has at his disposal to put together a team who can quickly shut down the Sharks and put the Bolts back on the right track.