BOSTON – This is not only one of the best Stanley Cup finals in years, but one of the most violent.
The Canucks and Bruins combined for 70 penalty minutes in Game 6, and none of those reflected the loss of Vancouver winger Mason Raymond on a dangerous hit by Boston defenceman Johnny Boychuk 20 seconds after the opening faceoff.
With Raymond doubled over in a vulnerable position – and without the puck – Boychuk held the Canuck’s head down and drove him backwards into the boards. Raymond appeared to strike his tailbone, and there was speculation he may have suffered a back injury although he eventually left the ice on his skates.
He was later transported on a stretcher to hospital. There was no post-game update from the Canucks on Raymond’s condition. In this series with throwback officiating, no penalty was called.
“Obviously, Mason is a large part of our team,” Canuck Manny Malhotra said. “To lose a guy early in the game, it changes so many things as far as how the process goes on the bench. Playing with different wingers and shuffling happened early, so I think that is a huge blow for any team, especially with such a good player like Raymond.”
Raymond wasn’t the only one missing by the end. Workhorse defenceman Alex Edler may have injured himself boarding Tyler Seguin at 7:55. Edler didn’t play the final five minutes of the first period, then went to the dressing room with 15 minutes to go in the third.
Canuck defenceman Andrew Alberts briefly left the bench in the third period, returned, then sat out the last five minutes.
Vancouver is already without defencemen Dan Hamhuis (undisclosed injury) and Aaron Rome (suspension).
Keith Ballard, who had a disastrous one-off return to the lineup for Game 4, is available to play Wednesday if Edler or Alberts can’t. And Jeff Tambellini is the likely candidate to replace Raymond.
“You lose key guys,” Daniel Sedin said. “Obviously, you want to have those guys in the lineup. But we’ve been relying on our depth the whole year and right now some guys are going to have to step up. That’s what teams do for each other, and we’re going to do it again.”
It didn’t look like any further damage was sustained by top Canucks Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Ryan Kesler and Kevin Bieksa, although the latter was briefly hobbled by another unpenalized slash to the back of his legs – this time by defenceman Dennis Seidenberg.
Daniel survived four straight gloved jabs from Bruin Brad Marchand in a late scrum. Marchand was assessed a roughing minor, although it was difficult to deduce which of the four punches was registered by referee Kelly Sutherland.
“It was the fifth one,” Daniel said. “I took six. People are going to call us soft, but what can I do? We’re going to keep taking punches. That is the way we play. If the referees see it, I’m sure they’ll call it.”
There wouldn’t be nearly as many hacks and punches if the Canuck power play, No. 1 during the regular season, wasn’t hibernating at 2-for-31 in the final.
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