We all know that Alain Vigneault has a man-boner for Aaron Rome. Afterall, he has continued to play the $750,000 defenseman while making the $4.2 million dollar Keith Ballard sit. I just hope that Vigneault had somebody with him to comfort him when he found out Tuesday morning that Rome would be suspended for the remainder of the playoffs.
On paper the trade is awesome. Canucks lose their 8th seed defenseman and Boston loses a top line forward. Rome shouldnt have even been playing in game 3. I called for him to sit for Keith Ballard, but i have been calling that all season long yet inexplicably Rome has become a staple of the Vancouver defense. His untimely penalties have late have cost him, and his penalties usually come from being beat and then overcompensating. This penalty in game three on the other hand was just a late hit. It definitely was a 5 minute major and Rome was lucky the Bruins didn't score on that powerplay otherwise there might be a lot of canucks fans blaming him for the loss.
I like that Rome got suspended for the hit and I hope going forward that the league suspends all similar hits. But we know this is the NHL and they are very inconsistent and wish-washy on suspending head hits. IF this is a change of culture for the NHL I am happy, although it is a little curious that it is taking place in the SCF. The only reason i am not outraged is because I am very happy that Vigneault will not be able to throw Rome into the mix anymore when there are perfectly healthy other (better) options for him to put in.
Looking at the defense pairings for tomorow night, one wonders how the canucks will lineup. This is how i think it will lineup:
bieksa-ballard
salo-edler
ehrhoff-alberts
You keep salo and edler together because they are a solid pair. Bieksa and Ballard are a tough gritty combo, hopefully one of them remembers to stay home. And ehrhoff Alberts is a good combo with Ehrhoff providing the shot and Alberts providing the toughness
Lets see how it pays off in game 4.
-Hark
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