The NHL has a well publicized mandate against hits to the head. Everyone got that message loud and clear, right? Well apparently, everyone did except for the Vancouver Canucks.
Aaron Rome, Vancouver's part-time 6th defensemen started game three by knocking out Boston Bruins second leading scorer, Nathan Horton, with a blindside hit to the head well after the puck had vacated the area. Rome was ejected after getting a major interference call.
Now everyone will wait for the ruling from the league to see if anything else happens to the head-hunting blueliner. And let's face it, at this point anything could happen. Will they choose to overlook the obvious, like they did when Alexandre Burrows bit Patrice Bergeron in game one?
Rome should not only be done for the rest of this postseason, he should start out next season in the press box as well. But even if that happens, where is the justice? The Bruins will be missing their playoff hero so far while the Canucks will be playing without a defenseman who has just appeared in 14 out of their 21 playoff games.
The Bruins exacted some payback on the scoreboard as they blitzed Roberto Luongo and the Canucks, 8-1. Will the team from Boston continue to use the adversity as extra motivation?
In the meantime, one could also ask when the refs will start to call diving, as it looked like a soccer match out there at times.
This series has gotten personal, look for the already high television ratings to climb even higher.