Paille Suspended 4 Games

Last night's slugfest against the Dallas Stars was an overall success for the Bruins, who set the tone with some fights early (3 in the first 4 seconds) and never looked back. One of the negatives mixed into the positive, however, was the hit forward Daniel Paille laid on Stars forward Raymond Sawada. Making a hustle play on the backcheck, Paille tried to separate Sawada from the puck -- and he succeeded. Unfortunately, the NHL deemed it was done in a dangerous and illegal fashion, earning the B's fourth-liner a 4-game suspension from the action.

At first, I wasn't sure I thought it was all that dirty. Jack Edwards was adamant in claiming that the hit was neither from the blindside nor targeting the head. Andy Brickley, though, the voice of reason, admitted that it wasn't exactly clean body contact. Upon looking at different angles, you could definitely see Paille stick the elbow out a little bit and it was definitely at the level of the head. I won't say it was totally from the blindside, but it was definitely bad enough to merit a suspension. We can't be hypocritical here. Boston fans want Matt Cooke lynched from the rafters of the TD Garden after the devastating hit he laid on Marc Savard in March of last year. It's not too far-fetched to say this Paille hit resembled the Cooke hit in some ways. It clearly wasn't as vicious and seemingly lacked much of the intent that Cooke had, but it was still illegal. If we want the hits like that to stop, if we want the Marc Savards of the world to stop going through career-threatening head injuries, you simply have to enforce the rule. Shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip, body to body. Leave the head out of it.

Paille will miss the next four games, and the Bruins have called up Zach Hamill to fill his spot. Hamill leads the Providence Bruins this season with 25 assists, and he ranks second on the squad in points with 28. Given Paille's fluctuating production this season, Hamill might have an opportunity to stay with the club for an extended period of time if he earns it. The B's are back in action tomorrow afternoon with a matinee against the San Jose Sharks.