Danny Briere and the Montreal Canadiens should keep their day jobs. Medical professionals they are not. Nothing fishy about it. Derek Stepan has been ruled out o tonight's Game 4. His head coach Alain Vigneault said earlier today That Stepan will be out indefinitely as a result of his broken jaw that he suffered at the hands of Ranger forward Brandon Prust.
Vigneault said that Stepan stopped by MSG to see his teammates on Sunday morning. TSN reported that Stepan was discharged from hospital Saturday night. Stepan's injury required a plate to be installed in his jaw.
“He’s recovering at home. “He stopped by this morning quickly to say hi to his teammates. He’s recovering at home, and there is no timetable at this time.…
Dan Carcillo will miss the next ten games due to his suspension, leaving he and Stepan out of the lineup.
Vigneault will play JT Miller in place of Stepan and Derek Brassard will return to the lineup as well.
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That escalated rather quickly.
Two weeks ago, a Montreal vs. New Yoek Eastern Conference Finals match-up looked sort of ho-hum on its surface. It was easy to handicap this series as a battle between two fast, skating teams with great goaltenders and skilled snipers at the ready to light the lamp.
Who saw all of this hatred and bad blood spilling into this series. I love it.
It started with Rangers power forward Chris Kreider's baseball slide with Ginsu knives pointed at Carey Price's legs.
Then it was Canadiens' power plant Brandon Prust destroying Rangers center Derek Stepan with a heavy body check.
Prust was suspended for two games. Stepan had surgery Friday to repair a broken jaw.
On Saturday, The Rangers dumped gasoline on a raging fire when members of their coaching staff sat and watched the Habs practice. This is a huge no-no in the NHL. Its okay to watch a game day skate. Its ever okay to watch an opponent's practice session.
As you will see in the video, Therrien was none too pleased with Rangers assistant coach Ulf Samuelsson, video coach Jerry Dineen spying huis practice. Therrien lit up Samuelsson and ripped him a new ass for breaching etiquette. Therrien had every reason to be upset. I like his response.
“There is always a gentleman’s agreement between two teams and the general managers that coaches are not allowed to attend practices between games,… said Therrien. “It’s respect for coaches that want to make adjustments, and it’s always been like that and that’s the way it is.…
Several Canadiens players said Saturday that they thought that Derek Stepan and the Rangers may be exaggerating the broken jaw. Danny Briere called the injury “fishy….
“We’re 100 percent expecting him to play,… quipped Brendan Gallagher. “He got up and he was yapping and yelling. So I’m sure the jaw isn’t hurting too much.…
More smack talk, please! ****
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