Jeff Quirin: The Blues needed a bigger boat... Recapping the St. Louis Blues titanic loss to the San Jose Sharks and thoughts on the Maxim Lapierre hit on Dan Boyle (Video).

Jeff Quirin: The Blues needed a bigger boat...
Recapping the St. Louis Blues titanic loss to the San Jose Sharks and thoughts on the Maxim Lapierre hit on Dan Boyle (Video).
- Jeff Quirin

Lapierre is a piece of poop. He should have been out of the game long ago. Hope Boyle is back soon good as new.

No comment on the dirty head shot to Jackman that started it all?

Lappy and Burns both had some cheap shots. And they should both be held responsible for their actions. But if the officials had made the first call, or Sharks had avoided starting the exchange of dirty plays in the first place, good chance no one gets hurt. Sad it had to go that way.

those player will have been punish in the 90s thats for sure

No comment on the dirty head shot to Jackman that started it all?

Lappy and Burns both had some cheap shots. And they should both be held responsible for their actions. But if the officials had made the first call, or Sharks had avoided starting the exchange of dirty plays in the first place, good chance no one gets hurt. Sad it had to go that way.
- Antilles

Really? Aren't we deflecting from the main issue just a little? I cannot bring to mind any dirty plays even close to the level of boarding a guy full speed square in the numbers. There is not a single excuse for the action of Lapierre. So by your might logic the Sharks should have broken a stick and stabbed Backes, because a dirty play means the other team must escalate the matter. And it would be acceptable and fair because Boyle was boarded.

I get it, Burns had a real questionable hit that the NHL can review if it so chooses, I wouldn't argue against it. Demers got a late shot in after the whistle. there was a good amount of odd plays, questionable actions and poor decisions from both teams. But to even suggest that these plays justify a potential career ending hit is abhorrent. If you want to discuss the other plays then do so but let us not muddy the waters with such drivel.

Note they didn't have commentary about Burns' hit though. At least that wasn't on the record in Joe's locker room.

Perhaps this is due to the fact the reporters did not ask them about the Burns hit. Maybe something much more dramatic happened during the game that was grabbing all the attention. One guy left on a stretcher, the other guy returned to the game. You may not like it, and it isn't fair but the focus is going to be on Boyle.

Then again maybe the players should have stopped the interview and say they wanted to make a comment about the Burns hit. Shame on them for doing what every player in their situation would have done, expressed outrage over a friend and team mate senselessly injured, the severity of which is still unknown.

Really? Aren't we deflecting from the main issue just a little? I cannot bring to mind any dirty plays even close to the level of boarding a guy full speed square in the numbers. There is not a single excuse for the action of Lapierre. So by your might logic the Sharks should have broken a stick and stabbed Backes, because a dirty play means the other team must escalate the matter. And it would be acceptable and fair because Boyle was boarded.

I get it, Burns had a real questionable hit that the NHL can review if it so chooses, I wouldn't argue against it. Demers got a late shot in after the whistle. there was a good amount of odd plays, questionable actions and poor decisions from both teams. But to even suggest that these plays justify a potential career ending hit is abhorrent. If you want to discuss the other plays then do so but let us not muddy the waters with such drivel.
- Hockey_Logic

I love how you just skip over the part where I said Lappy and Burns need to be held responsible over their actions so you can get upset that someone pointed out that Lappy's hit was a reaction to a cheap shot by the Sharks. If you actually want that sort of thing taken out of the game, you need to look at why it happens. Sharks have a reputation in St. Louis for the cheap shots over the last few years. Thorton took out Perron for nearly 100 games. Braun suckerpunched Langenbrunner in the back of the head during a scrum. And tonight on the first shift someone head shots Jackman. If you actually want these hits out of the game, waiting for action until something severe happens isn't going to work. Neither is judging players based on the result. Lappy wasn't even getting a penalty until it became apparent Boyle was hurt. Burns only got 2 minutes for an equally if not more dangerous hit because Morrow managed to skate off under his own power. The refs and the league's discipline is entirely reactionary, not preventative. And it's sad it has to reach this point.

Again, not saying Lappy's hit was justified. He needs to be held responsible. But vilifying it because of the result while ignoring everything else is pointless. Sharks fans getting enraged at it without being equally as upset with their own players are as bad as the league, purely reactionary. If Boyle hadn't been bent over and losing his balance, the result of this hit would have been somewhere between the headshot to Jax or the boarding by Burns. If the league and fans want to get mad, they should get equally as mad every time someone rolls the dice on ending a career, not just when someone actually gets hurt. Instead you want to focus purely on the decision Lappy made, and just let the exact same actions go or get only a slap on the wrists when a player is lucky enough to avoid severe injury.

Players are responsible for their actions. But the league and fans accepting those actions until it results in something they don't like are responsible for enabling them.

I took umbrage with the fact that your response to the Lapierre hit was to blame the Sharks. It is the same argument that children make when they are caught doing something wrong. "They started it!" I have no problem with arguments against Burns or any other Sharks player. Penalties get missed in every game and they were on both sides. So to pretend that San Jose was the only team taking cheap shots is ridiculous. But again I will state my point since you missed it. You cannot justify a dirty play by pointing to other dirty play. Have the NHL review every play and hand out suspensions accordingly, I really don't care. Every dirty play should be reviewed and the offended suspended or fined as is found fitting regardless of the jersey.

Also if you recall the Thornton suspension hearing, he asked the NHL review board what he could have done differently on the hit. They were not able to answer him. It is unfortunate that you lost a skilled player on the hit but when the league suspends a player without the ability to even state what was done wrong there is a problem. And yet everyone remembers that situation differently, they cry about a head shot or an elbow, didn't happen. It was just a hard, open ice it as Thornton came out of the box. But here is the funny thing, I am not going to blame the Blues for the Thornton hit or the Burns hit, which I guess I should because after all it was retaliatory right?

I went back and watched the Perron hit, from one angle you see Thornton glance of his shoulder and it does appear he made contact with the head. I was mistaken. Though a 2 game suspension is not rare for a player without a history. Odd as it is that we should not judge the hit on Boyle by the result and then build an argument based on the result of the Thornton hit.

Trying to reason with those who refuse logic is like giving medicine to the dead. This is how I see you and undoubtedly you see me. There is nothing to be gained here through further discussion. You win, I was wrong, however you want to paint the situation the summation is that this has been a futile effort. My hubris got the best of me again.

You equate the Burns hit on Morrow to the shot Boyle took, eh Quirin?

LMFAO

One player went to the hospital & the other returned to the game...

Pure genius.

No comment on the dirty head shot to Jackman that started it all?

Lappy and Burns both had some cheap shots. And they should both be held responsible for their actions. But if the officials had made the first call, or Sharks had avoided starting the exchange of dirty plays in the first place, good chance no one gets hurt. Sad it had to go that way.
- Antilles

Oh, so it's the officials fault? And poor Jackman, who is a perennial Lady Byng candidate, would never, ever cheap shot anyone and is clearly the victim here.

It's a dirty play by a dirty player. I would love to hear the reasoning had it been Torres (yeah, I know he's out) who did this to Steen.

If Boyle hadn't been bent over and losing his balance, the result of this hit would have been somewhere between the headshot to Jax or the boarding by Burns.
- Antilles

Very good point that everyone seems to be missing. The reason Boyle got hurt was no ones fault, just a unfortunate situation that sometimes happens. If Boyle would have been standing upright and not bent over, he would have been rubbed out along the boards just like any normal play. Lappy should have noticed that Boyle was hunched over and tried to do all he could to avoid him. I dont think he did this intentionally, he was coming in to follow up a check like any forward would do, but the fact the Boyle was hunched over and off balance is what made it bad, not Lappy intentionally head hunting.

I will say the same about the Perron situation. I dont think Thorton intentionally took Perron out, but he didnt do anything to get out of the way either just as Lappy. But again, not intentional.

I saw the elbow to Jackman and the hit on Morrow....those were intentional. I like the comment from someone about how these hits wouldnt happen in the 90's. Completely agree, if you did something intentional back in the day, you paid for it. Now players do it and are known for it and get away with it.

I didnt really care for the Lappy signing anyway. I would rather see Cracknell or Porter in there.

I have no use whatsoever for Max Lapierre. This was a terrible signing. He's is a notorious knucklehead and he always will be.

The problem with brainless knuckleheads is that they bring the entire team down. He gets tossed and his teammates have to spend the rest of the night paying for his stupidity.

I could not be in the same room with that guy and answer questions about a hit like that and try and defend any part of it.

Get him out of here.

**********************

Blues were flat from the opening faceoff. The extra curricular antics just put them in a hole they couldn't get out of.

They lost every critical PP faceoff, at least for as long as I was watching. I turned the game off at 3-0.

The hit on Morrow was also incredibly dangerous.

You equate the Burns hit on Morrow to the shot Boyle took, eh Quirin?

LMFAO

One player went to the hospital & the other returned to the game...

Pure genius.
- Team_Teal

Just because he didn't go to the hospital doesn't mean the hit was not just as bad and dangerous. .

I have no use whatsoever for Max Lapierre. This was a terrible signing. He's is a notorious knucklehead and he always will be.

The problem with brainless knuckleheads is that they bring the entire team down. He gets tossed and his teammates have to spend the rest of the night paying for his stupidity.

I could not be in the same room with that guy and answer questions about a hit like that and try and defend any part of it.

Get him out of here.

**********************

Blues were flat from the opening faceoff. The extra curricular antics just put them in a hole they couldn't get out of.

They lost every critical PP faceoff, at least for as long as I was watching. I turned the game off at 3-0.

The hit on Morrow was also incredibly dangerous.
- bcallaway

I honestly don't have a big problem with Lapierre on our 4th line. I am not a big fan of his, but he is useful. Especially in the faceoff category.

That was a bad hit, but it was a 2 minute penalty that turned into a major because Boyle was seriously hurt when his chin came down hard on the boards. I hope that Boyle is ok, but the Burns hit was more dangerous, Morrow was just not seriously hurt. And a 2 minute penalty was called as a result.

Blues did come out flat, and dug themselves into a hole. Penalty kill has to be better than it was last night.

You equate the Burns hit on Morrow to the shot Boyle took, eh Quirin?

LMFAO

One player went to the hospital & the other returned to the game...

Pure genius.
- Team_Teal

This is the exact sort of reactionary idiocy I'm talking about. So if Boyle is back in a couple weeks, as has happened to players who left on a stretcher, and Morrow misses the next 100 games, as has happened to players despite them returning the game they got injured; then suddenly Burns hit is terrible and Lappy's isn't so bad?

Trying to reason with those who refuse logic is like giving medicine to the dead. This is how I see you and undoubtedly you see me.
- Hockey_Logic

Actually, I just see you as either skipping or ignoring part of a comment in order to take the other parts out of context and argue against them instead of the point being made.

I honestly don't have a big problem with Lapierre on our 4th line. I am not a big fan of his, but he is useful. Especially in the faceoff category.

That was a bad hit, but it was a 2 minute penalty that turned into a major because Boyle was seriously hurt when his chin came down hard on the boards. I hope that Boyle is ok, but the Burns hit was more dangerous, Morrow was just not seriously hurt. And a 2 minute penalty was called as a result.

Blues did come out flat, and dug themselves into a hole. Penalty kill has to be better than it was last night.
- carcus

The issue with him is more than just the hit last night. He took a stupid penalty in a game last week as well and put the team in jeopardy.

He's always done this, he always will do this. He's a stupid, selfish, piece of crap.

Tyson Nash
Mike Danton
Max Lapierre

No difference. All idiots.

The Blues are always going to be finding themselves having to answer question about this jackass's antics.

And I just want to say this about everyone talking about Lapierre being a turd.

There are way worse hits from behind than this one. The result of this was bad because Boyle slipped right before the hit and his chin hit the ledge of the boards. That was unfortunate.

But players do way worse things that Lapierre did on that play. It happens regularly too. The Burns hit was worse in my opinion, but Morrow was not seriously hurt on the play. Boyle was seriously hurt, but not so much from the hit, but from the bad position he was in from slipping a fraction of a second before the hit was made.

People love to hate on players who have a history when a hit is made. Fine, hate on Lapierre if you like. But his was not worse than Burns hit, and people are not talking about Burns like he is a turd.

And those two were not the only two bad hits in the game. These type of things are regular occurances. The hit on Jackman at the start of the game is another example. That is three bad hits there in one game.

Honestly, I am amazed that players can have careers without serious injuries. Amazed that JBo has played as many games as he has without getting hurt. But the more I think of it, it is probably because he does a very good job at putting himself in positions where the other team doesn't have the option of hitting him from behind/etc. Players today seem to be willing to put their back towards the other team to play the puck way too much, when they know another guy is coming.

The issue with him is more than just the hit last night. He took a stupid penalty in a game last week as well and put the team in jeopardy.

He's always done this, he always will do this. He's a stupid, selfish, piece of crap.

Tyson Nash
Mike Danton
Max Lapierre

No difference. All idiots.

The Blues are always going to be finding themselves having to answer question about this jackass's antics.
- bcallaway

Ok. But I think he was brought in because Blues management was tired of seeing that stuff happen to our guys. Not that it makes it ok, but similar to how we used to have a Chase or Twist, today teams carry a pest (idiot) to run around and try and get under the skin of the opponents.

Ok. But I think he was brought in because Blues management was tired of seeing that stuff happen to our guys. Not that it makes it ok, but similar to how we used to have a Chase or Twist, today teams carry a pest (idiot) to run around and try and get under the skin of the opponents.
- carcus

here's the part I fail to understand.......

So, he's basically signed to replace the likes of Scott Nichol, right? A guy good on faceoffs who can get under your skin and be the sandpaper, correct?

OK, I don't necessarily equate all pests as being idiots. I get that part of the game.

But ask yourself this - when was it that the Blues really started humming last season.

Was it not when Nichol got hurt and they regularly put together the CPR line that could hem a team into their own end on a seemingly endless forecheck. So much so, that you could literally change your forwards one at a time and insert your offensive scoring lines and get chances against a team that was exhausted.

I know we're only five game in, but I haven't seen that yet. Have you?

here's the part I fail to understand.......

So, he's basically signed to replace the likes of Scott Nichol, right? A guy good on faceoffs who can get under your skin and be the sandpaper, correct?

OK, I don't necessarily equate all pests as being idiots. I get that part of the game.

But ask yourself this - when was it that the Blues really started humming last season.

Was it not when Nichol got hurt and they regularly put together the CPR line that could hem a team into their own end on a seemingly endless forecheck. So much so, that you could literally change your forwards one at a time and insert your offensive scoring lines and get chances against a team that was exhausted.

I know we're only five game in, but I haven't seen that yet. Have you?
- bcallaway

3rd period of the NYR game.

I think this is going to be a good opportunity to switch things up some and see how Paajarvi and/or Cracks can do when they get in there. Morrow looked to be ok, but it wouldn't surprise me if he was not feeling 100% and they sit him the next game or two and Lapierre is out with a suspension, giving both of them a chance to play.

I want to see Paajarvi in there against Chicago as I think his speed will be helpful against their roster.

I would also love for Jaskin to get a chance to come up. He looked great in the preseason, and by the looks of it, has continued it up in Chicago.

I think getting ML and breaking up the CPR line also had to do with being able to roll 4 lines consistently, not pick spots. The 4th line looked good last year when they got offense zone starts against certain competition. They were a liability if they started in the defensive zone against other teams top stuff. I think ML was brought in so we could give the bottom line more defensive zone starts.

I don't think it's worked though. I feel like 50% of us getting trapped in our own end comes from the 4th line being out there with Jax and Polak.

3rd period of the NYR game.
- carcus

Yes, you are correct about this. Good call. The last six or seven minutes of that game they were a completely different team.