10:23 p.m. was not a good time for the Washington Capitals on Monday. That’s when the clock hit zero, putting the Caps down 2-1 in their best of seven quarterfinal matchup with the Bruins. But it was also what happened after the whistle that could haunt the team’s postseason chances.

As the final seconds ticked off and the Caps dropped the game 4-3, Boston’s Rich Peverley and Alex Ovechkin got into a scuffle. Coming to the aid of his buddy, Nicklas Backstrom delivered a cross-check up high on the Bruins forward. That’s when the inconsistent officiating of this series — and these playoffs as a whole — once again reared its head. For his infraction — the third called against him in the game — Backstrom was assessed a match penalty.

The video is after the jump.

“I think it’s normal that there’s some intensity and the rivalry is getting better and bigger as we move forward here,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said in his post-game press conference. “You understand that those kind of things are going to happen. The only thing that’s a little disappointing for me is the fact that this is the third time in three games that our player has been cross-checked in the face. We saw the one on [David] Krejci in Game 1 and Ovechkin on [Dennis] Seidenberg in Game 2, and now Backstrom. You hope that those things don’t get out of hand and again, I’m going to say the same thing I said last time, somebody else has to deal with that and not us and as a coach I want to continue to get my team ready for the next game.”

So what does this all mean? Let’s take a look at NHL Rule 21.1:

A match penalty shall be imposed on any player who deliberately attempts to injure or who deliberately injures an opponent in any manner. … In addition to the match penalty, the player shall be automatically suspended from further competition until the Commissioner has ruled on the issue.

Yep, after Shea Weber’s attempted murder of Henrik Zetterberg last week that earned him a mere (for a guy that earns $7.5 million) $2,500 fine, it’s the 24-year-old soft-spoken Swede that could be sitting up in the press box Thursday. And how about what Tim Thomas pulled on Saturday, committing two acts that according to the rulebook should have earned him match (!) penalties.

I think Backstrom’s play was dangerous, no doubt. But was it a deliberate attempt to injure Peverley? I don’t think so. Backstrom is not that kind of player and this was a heat of the moment situation. And that’s what Caps coach Dale Hunter hopes the league will conclude.

“I think the league will review it and rescind it,” he said. “If you see it, it’s not that bad.”

Take heart, Caps fans, it’s all up to Gary Bettman now.

Special thanks to Gary Bettman for letting the guys out of the Quiet Room long enough for us to snap this pic. Enlarge. (Photo illustration by Ian Oland)

The stars of the All-Star Game were a little less bright this year. Some of the familiar faces that fans expect were absent for reasons that are becoming all too familiar in the modern NHL: head injury. Approximately 85 head injuries have been reported this year, meaning that nearly ten percent of all active players have been injured. 28 of 30 teams have reported at least one head injury, while some franchises have dealt with as many six or seven. With star center Nicklas Backstrom now sitting out due to concussion, the issue has hit close to home for Caps fans.

While Brendan Shanhan has doled out 26 regular-season suspensions — which some think have gone too far, hits targeting of the head continue. The face of the NHL, Sidney Crosby, lasted just nine games in his latest comeback before being sidelined yet again with post-concussion syndrome. His return to the ice and excellence is still uncertain.

Even worse, a season after seeing three of its enforcers die in one summer, the NHL faces mounting questions about player safety. Some players, celebrated for their toughness, bristle at league mandates regarding concussions.

One such example came on December 17th, when the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Colby Armstrong suffered a concussion after colliding with Vancouver’s Ryan Kesler. However, Armstrong did not report the concussion, choosing instead to hide his condition from trainers, who discovered it only when they found Armstrong vomiting in the locker room. While no one would question Armstrong’s toughness and grit, this is the last place that an NHL player should be expected to show his bravery.

Below the jump, we’ve chosen to highlight 12 All-Star caliber players — six each for the Eastern and Western Conferences — who’ve struggled with head injury this year. We hope that this brings attention to concussions in sports and specifically in hockey, where the problem has grown too big to be ignored.

Western Conference Head Injury Starters

Mike Richards, Los Angeles Kings

Story: Mike Richards took a Sean Bergenheim shoulder to the head on December 1st. He went to IR on the following day and missed eight games with a head injury. Bergenheim did not receive any supplemental discipline.

Penalties on the play:

LAK Mike Richards: 2 Minutes for Slashing (Served by Trent Hunter)
LAK Mike Richards: 2 Minutes for Roughing (Served by Trent Hunter)
FLA Sean Bergenheim: 2 Minutes for Roughing
LAK Jarret Stoll: 2 Minutes for Roughing

Richards told LA Times that it was not for the first time he’s suffered a concussion:

“I’ve been injured like this before,” he said. “Like I said, it’s just time. It’s nothing you can rush. It’s a hurry-up-and-wait sort of thing.” [...] “Obviously it’s something that you’re used to playing every day,” he said. “And going out there and having fun. It’s just not the same. You’re not with the guys in the dressing room. You always feel like you could be doing more.”

Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings

Story: One of three Kings’ star forwards to suffer concussions this season, Kopitar was injured on a hard hit by Dallas Stars power forward Brenden Morrow behind Dallas’ net. Kopitar left the game for precautionary reasons, but thankfully for Kings fans, did not miss a single game afterward.

Penalties on the play:

LAK Mike Richards: 10 Minute Game Misconduct
LAK Mike Richards: 2 Minutes for Instigator – Face Shield (Served by Trent Hunter)
LAK Mike Richards: 2 Minutes for Unsportsmanlike Conduct (Served by Trent Hunter)
DAL Brenden Morrow: 5 Minute Major for Fighting
LAK Mike Richards: 5 Minute Major for Fighting

A day after the hit, Kopitar described his condition to Rich Hammond of LA Kings Insider:

“Feeling good. Nothing special to say, really. It was just precautionary reasons last night. I’m sure you guys know, even better than I do, what it takes after you get hit like that, what you’ve got to do (with) the quiet room and stuff. But I’m feeling good this morning, and that’s about it.’’

Taylor Hall, Edmonton Oilers

Story: Taylor Hall took a Corey Potter skate to the face in warm-ups before a game against the Blue Jackets, and it didn’t look pretty. Hall only missed two games – one against the Blue Jackets and the next against the St. Louis Blues.

Hall talked about the injury with the Edmonton Journal’s Joanne Ireland:

“I looked a lot better before, but what can you do?” Hall said on Thursday. “You can say that I’m lucky I didn’t get my eye taken out or that I didn’t get my throat sliced. Or, I’m just unlucky because something like his has never happened in the history of the sport with how many guys who have not worn a helmet in warm-up.”

Shea Weber, Nashville Predators

Story: Shea Weber, the Nashville Predators hard-shooting All-Star defenseman, took a forearm to the head from the Dallas Stars’ Mark Fistric and missed four games with “concussion-like symptoms.” No penalties were called on the play, nor did Brendan Shanahan suspend Fistric, who had already been suspended that month for an illegal hit on Islanders forward Nino Niederreiter. The hit on Neiderreiter also resulted in a concussion.

Shea Weber also sometimes drops the gloves. Fox Sports Tennessee’s John Manasso wrote an interesting article on why he shouldn’t:

It’s understandable that you don’t want your opponents to know that you won’t fight. Keep the secret to yourself. You don’t have to disavow fighting publicly. Just don’t fight. You have too much to risk and too little to gain.

Sami Salo, Vancouver Canucks

Story: In one of the most controversial hits this season, Brad Marchand caught Sami Salo with what seemed to be a borderline hit somewhere between a hip check and a clip. This earned Marchand a lengthy suspension from Brendan Shanahan, missing five games; Salo is yet to return.

Penalties:
BOS Brad Marchand: 5 Minute Major for Clipping (Served by Shawn Thornton)
BOS Brad Marchand: 10 Minute Game Misconduct

Salo told Vancouver Sun what he thinks about the hit:

“I’m lucky I didn’t break my neck,” Salo said Friday, answering questions for the first time since landing heavily on the back of his head and neck when upended by Marchand during the Canucks’ 4-3 win in Boston two weeks ago. “You can’t play the game thinking about what other guys might do. You can’t play the game… thinking this guy might elbow me or something.

Josh Harding, Minnesota Wild

Photos by PointNShoot

Story: Minnesota goaltender Josh Harding was accidentally elbowed in the head by his teammate, Nick Schultz, while battling with the Sharks’ Joe Pavelski in front of the net. The elbow left Harding with a concussion. He became the fourth Wild player to suffer from a concussion this season joining Guillaume Latendresse, Marek Zidlicky, and Pierre-Marc Bouchard on the sidelines.

Western Conference Honorable Mention

Forwards: Alex Tanguay, Simon Gagne, R.J. Umberger, Ryane Clowe, Alex Steen, Andy McDonald, Mike Fisher. Defensemen: Brent Seabrook, Ian White, Radek Martinek, Michal Roszival, Carlo Colaiacovo. Goalie: Steve Mason.

Eastern Conference Head Injury Starters

Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins

Story: You’re probably already sick of reading about Crosby’s collision with then-Capital David Steckel and hit by Lightning d-man Victor Hedman, so we won’t elaborate on it. Sid’s comeback from those two hits lasted all of nine games. In the last game he played, he collided with the Bruins’ David Krejci and that is believed to be a reason of his latest concussion. He also collided with teammate Chris Kunitz, which as the National Post so elegantly said, “finished him.” It was revealed during All-Star Weekend that Crosby suffered a broken neck as well.

Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers

Story: Another friendly-fire incident that resulted in injury, Giroux was accidentally kneed by teammate Wayne Simmonds, who tried to jump over the fallen Giroux. Giroux missed only four games and at first it looked like he never missed a beat, recording a four-point performance in the very first game back, but then…

PhillyBurbs.com sums it up best:

The conspiracy theory is that the concussion he suffered back on Dec. 10 against Tampa Bay (in a collision with teammate Wayne Simmonds) hasn’t completely healed yet and that there might be some residual effects.

Giroux did return after missing four games and put together a four-point night at Dallas on Dec. 21. But in the 13 games since then, just one goal (in the Jan. 2 Winter Classic) and eight assists.

Nicklas Backstrom, Washington Capitals

Story: The Washington Capitals first-half MVP, Nicklas Backstrom, was elbowed by Rene Bourque, who was later suspended five games by Shanahan for the incident (and beaten up by us video-game style). Backstrom has no timetable for a return, and the Capitals’ success and overall mobility has declined with him out of the lineup. The Caps with and without Backstrom are two entirely different teams. Backstrom’s health will likely influence George McPhee’s trade strategy come the deadline.

Chris Pronger, Philadelphia Flyers

Story: One of the scariest injuries in awhile, because of its seriousness and because of its effect on a player who has been a measuring stick for toughness. Chris Pronger was hit high by an errant Mikhail Grabovski stick. Right away, the injury didn’t look good with concerns mostly focused on damage to his sight. However, Pronger returned from what was called an “eye injury” and played six games. After that, he had a knee injury that required surgery, and it was only at this time that the Flyers organization revealed that he was suffering from post-concussion syndrome, and would likely be out for the rest of the season.

The Flyers’ captain told NHL.com:

“I just didn’t feel well, I didn’t know what it was,” Pronger said that day. “I never felt like that before with headaches and nausea, and that stuff. I had a concussion baseline test and passed that … I got lightheaded, had headaches, you’re nauseous.”

Pronger’s wife Lauren also offered her perspective on the injury:

“It’s a tough go at home,” she said. “We’re going day-to-day right now — good days, bad days. It’s been a lot of trauma going on. We’re just praying right now. He’s battling. He wants to be out there more than anybody. It’s tough for all of us to watch him go through this.”

Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins

Story: Kris Letang was injured in the third period of a Canadiens – Penguins game on November 25. He returned in that game and scored the OT game-winner, but missed 21 games afterwards. Though there was no penalty call on the play, Pacioretty was suspended three games by the Department of Player Safety.

Sidney Crosby gave Letang advice before he returned to the ice. Letang told the media:

“Pay attention to how your body reacts out there and make sure I’m 100 percent ready, not taking any chances because you need your head for the rest of your life. It was a question of feeling good and being confident that I can do the job out there.”

Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres

Story: Ryan Miller was hit by Milan Lucic in a race for the puck. Lucic was not suspended for the hit and only got two minutes of penalty time for charging. Later this season, Jordin Tootoo collided with Miller and was suspended for two games. The concussion Miller sustained after the Lucic hit was his second in a year.

Miller told Yahoo! Sports what it felt like to have a concussion:

“My issue every time has been, it affects your focus and concentration,” Miller said. “You feel like you have ADD. You feel like you have extreme ADD when you have the headaches and you have the uncomfortable ‘off’ feeling. I mean, I think history can kind of show I’m a very intense, focused person, and when I can’t even get through a 10-, 15-minute task at home, which I can usually sit down and do, something’s wrong.”

Eastern Conference Honorable Mention

Forwards: Jeff Skinner, Martin St. Louis, Daniel Alfredsson, Milan Michalek, Danny Briere, Evander Kane. Defensemen: Zbynek Michalek, Joni Pitkanen, Marс Staal, John-Michael Liles, Victor Hedman. Goalies: James Reimer, Al Montoya, Rick DiPietro.

Layout, graphics, and introduction by Ian Oland.
Additional reporting by Ana Hansen.

“Kanooblian” by Mark Burrier. See Rare Words for more of Mark’s art.

Mike Knuble will play his 1000th NHL game on Tuesday night. And I get to write the pregamer! Woohoo!

There’s a team. They’re from Nashville. That’s where Steve Earle got busted for dope the first 40 times, and it’s where my girlfriend Hayley Williams lives right now. The Predators are 17-11-4. Their new guitar pick logo is awesome. They beat the Caps 3-1 last month, and their home jerseys harshed my rods and cones. Faith Hill hates Carrie Underwood. The Preds are just barely inside the playoff picture right now. D-man Shea Weber is insanely good (24 points, plus-15) and will get even better. But enough about them, let’s talk Kanooble!

KANOOBS FACTS

The Face

• Mike was born on the fourth of July in the American territory of Toronto, Ontario.
• Mike Knuble has played for 5 NHL teams, of which only 4 suck vociferously.
• Mike’s surname is pronounced ki-noo-bəl and it translates roughly as “Sorry, penguin.”
• Mike has scored 271 goals from a cumulative shot distance of 169 feet.
• Mike has averaged over 15 minutes a game since 2002, when he was grinding in Boston.
• Mike won the Cup with Detroit in ’97 with Yzerman, Shanahan, and all those Russian dudes.
• Mike has scored 31 goals against the Pittsburgh Penguins in just 60 some games.
• Mike is in the midst of one of his worst seasons since… well… Y2k. He’s rocking a minus-7 right now.
• Mike dishes awesome quotes when the team is struggling: “We look all like a bunch of clowns when we don’t [commit].”
• Mike Knuble plays hockey on the fourth line of the Washington Capitals.

Your boy Mike Vogel tells me that Knuble will be just the 267th NHL dude to have played in 1000 games. (By the way, you really need to read Vogel’s article on Knuble. Go ahead; I’ll wait.) He’s been dressing for games since 1997, when people were actually listening to ska music. He didn’t find his stride until his 30s, but he’s been producing consistently since then. He’s been with the Capitals since 2009, when he looked at first glance like a poor substitute for Viktor Kozlov until we realized how stupid that was. That season– at the age of 37– Knuble put up 29 goals, mostly while working with Alex Ovechkin and Nick Backstrom.

Mike Knuble celebrates with linemates Backstrom and Oveckin after scoring in the Winter Classic.

Two seasons later, almost halfway into a one-year, $2 million contract, Mike Knuble is a fourth liner. Since November 23, Knuble has broken the 15-minute threshold just once– against his arch-nemeses in Penguins uniforms. It’s not surprising his output has stalled given that he’s missing 5 or 6 shifts per game and isn’t sharing the ice with a guy who used to be the most creative player in the league. He’s doing well in his grinder role, going only minus-3 in that period.

We’ve been unhappy about how Knuble has been used under late-era Boudreau and Dale Hunter. We’re not alone.  Mike Knuble is capable not just of great things, but of the very things the Capitals need right now: particularly, grit. Mike Knuble scoars goals like Waffle House hash browns; greasy. He scores at the end of cycles, he works hard in corners, he funnels the puck to the net with deliberation.

Shouldn’t he be one of Hunter’s favorites? Shouldn’t he be getting more ice time?

I believe that Knuble has great hockey ahead of him. He’s at 999 games right now. There are 51 left in this season. There’s a postseason looming after that. I’d like to see him in Caps red for another 82. It’s his sunset; let him ride off in his own damn way.

Usually I’d close with “crash the net”, which is awfully kanooblian. But instead I’m gonna quote the man himself:

“This is no farewell song.”

Sometimes a good protest comes in T-shirt form.

And then Stevie Y announced the Defenseman.

We heard Dan Boyle and Drew Doughty. Then Duncan Keith and Scott Niedermayer. Next was Chris Pronger and Brent Seabrook. And then… the 7th and final defenseman… Shea Weber?

After all the days that have passed since, we here at RMNB have still struggled to understand how Canada’s Best Defenseman, Mike Green, was left off the roster. Even as recently as Friday Night during the Olympic Opening Ceremonies, I professed to Daniel that Mike Green’s Defensive Acumen was at worst an 8 out of 10 – but more realistically a 9. And I said “EASILY” too. This prompted Daniel to investigate my claims as he was quite suspicious. Below are Daniel’s findings. How has Mike Green stacked up against his fellow countrymen and the rest of the NHL this year? See for yourself below the jump. You might be surprised.

First off, I’d say that you can make a fairly strong argument that the Chicago Blackhawk’s Duncan Keith is actually Canada’s best defenseman overall – at least this season. Green’s a very strong second though.

Here’s a handy table of the defensemen on the Candadian Olympic hockey team, along with the Capital who was left off (stats courtesy of Behind The Net):

Relative plus-minus is plus-minus adjusted for his team so that a good player on a bad team isn’t penalized. OGVT is offensive goals versus threshold (“contributions to goals scored against the opposition” above what a replacement level player would have done – Puck Prospectus); DGVT is defensive goals versus threshold; and GVT is total goals versus threshold (which includes shootout GVT as well).

As you can see, Keith is actually ahead of Green by a little over 1 goal (as of 2/12), though they rank 1-2 amongst all defensemen in the NHL. Also, Niedermayer sort of sticks out like a sore thumb. He’s the Captain of the Canadian team though, and was therefore likely chosen for veteran leadership and other intangibles more than his current playing abilities. And that makes sense considering his long list of accomplishment includes the following: 2 Stanley Cups, the Conn Smyth Trophy as Playoff MVP in 2007 & a Gold Medal with Team Canada in the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.

The Candian defensemen (not counting the Captian) actually rank 1st-2nd (Green)-3rd-4th-13th and 14th in the whole NHL in GVT. It’s a very strong crew, with or without Mike Green. When the team was chosen and Mike Green was excluded, I heard that one of the potential reasons for it was that Canada was trying to build a strong defensive unit. Looking at the DGVTs, that does indeed appear to be the direction in which they went, as Green – while excellent overall – hasn’t necessarily been the strongest on the defensive end. In fact, ranking all NHL defensemen by DGVT, the Olympic crew is 1st-2nd-4th-5th and 27th, while Green is all the way down at number 47. Taking him over Shea Weber might have been a good call given the narrow difference in DGVT and large difference in OGVT though.

Here’s a graph of all NHL defensemen with at least 50 games played this season, ranked by DGVT:

Those green lines are (somewhat ironically) the top defensemen on the Canadian team (ie. not Niedermayer). The red line is Mike Green. He’s slightly above the average (which is 2.8 DGVT for this group) but not by a great deal.

Even just comparing Green to his fellow Capitals teammates, he doesn’t come out terrifically. He’s third behind Jeff Schultz (4.3) and Alex  Ovechkin (3.4) in DGVT, and 6th in relative plus-minus. Additionally, Green is 13th (!) on the team – amongst players with at least 10 games – in Quality of Competition (which GVT apparently does not account for). Even facing lesser competition, he hasn’t been a stand-out defensively (though he’s still good there, and great overall).

I’ll finish by noting that I’m not the only one who doesn’t think all that highly of Green’s defense (from the pre-season projections at Puck Prospectus):

“The one hold up with Green is his sometimes spotty work in the defensive zone. This was especially evident in the playoffs against superior competition, so if Green works on his defensive game, he could become the top defenseman in the entire league.”

That comment was attached to a projection of 6.3 DGVT, whereas Green is currently on pace for just a 4.4 DGVT. I’m just saying…

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