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Urho Vaakanainen

Mark Borowiecki Suspended One Game

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The verdict is in, and Mark Borowiecki will be forced to sit one game for his elbow to the head of Urho Vaakanainen last night. The Department of Player Safety announced the suspension today, and included an explanation:

While we accept Borowiecki’s argument that he was not aiming for Vaakanainen’s head and only trying to defend his crease, Borowiecki is still responsible for the fact that he recklessly delivered a blow to the head of his opponent with sufficient force to cause an injury. 

The Ottawa Senators defenseman has been suspended previously, as he was given a two-game ban for boarding Tyler Toffoli in 2016. Though the league mentions this prior suspension, it notes that it was several seasons ago and for a different type of incident. It would have been taken into account, but clearly the DoPS believed they should not hand out a more severe punishment this time around.

Unfortunately for the Boston Bruins, Vaakanainen is likely going to be out longer than the player who injured him. The young defenseman was in just his second career game, but suffered a concussion and was almost immediately ruled out for the remainder of the game. The team will have to take it slow with their prized prospect, given his importance to the team’s long term plans on the blue line. The Bruins are back in action tomorrow, and it would be extremely surprising to see the young defenseman available for the game.

That leaves the Bruins in a tough spot given that Torey Krug, Charlie McAvoy and Kevan Miller are all still out of the lineup. Head coach Bruce Cassidy indicated to Eric Russo of NHL.com that the team will have to look at the Providence Bruins for help to get through these injuries, mentioning Cody Goloubef among other candidates.

Ottawa meanwhile will have Cody Ceci back in the lineup on Friday while Borowiecki sits out, giving them at least another experienced option to soak up minutes on the blue line. After that, the suspended defenseman will be able to rejoin the club and finish out their Western Conference road trip through Vegas and Arizona. He’ll have to stay on his best behavior for a while, or else face increased scrutiny from the league for his physical altercations.

Mark Borowiecki To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety

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The Ottawa Senators could be without a key defenseman for a few games, after the league announced today that Mark Borowiecki will have a hearing with the Department of Player Safety to determine a potential suspension. Borowiecki elbowed Boston Bruins defenseman Urho Vaakanainen in the face last night during an altercation in front of the net, but wasn’t penalized on the play. Vaakanainen suffered a concussion on the play.

Borowiecki is familiar with the DoPS from his two-game suspension in 2016 for boarding Tyler Toffoli of the Los Angeles Kings. That previous suspension will be taken into account, and given Vaakanainen suffered an injury another ban seems likely. The league is trying hard to take head shots out of the game, and though this incident wasn’t a full body check to the head, Borowiecki obviously targeted the young Bruins defenseman’s face as he came in to try and find a loose puck. While that decision was made in an instant, the league will take its time in determining any supplementary discipline.

The Senators play again on Friday and Sunday evenings, as they start a Western Conference road trip that takes them to Colorado, Vegas and Arizona. Luckily for the team, Cody Ceci is expected to be back in the lineup by the team’s next game, giving them back the player they depend on the most on defense.

Minor Transactions: 10/20/18

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It’s a busy Saturday around the NHL with 13 games on tap so there is likely to be plenty of roster movement throughout the day.  We’ll keep tabs on those moves here.

  • Late last night, the Ducks announced that they had sent winger Troy Terry down to San Diego of the AHL and recalled winger Pontus Aberg to take his place on the roster. Terry had yet to record a point with Anaheim in six games so they’re hoping a trip to the minors will get him going.  He’s off to a good start after posting three points on Friday night.  Meanwhile, Aberg was claimed by the Ducks late in training camp but they re-waived him shortly thereafter.  He has a goal and an assist in two games with the Gulls so far this season.
  • With just six defensemen on their active roster, the Senators were expected to bring someone up in advance of tonight’s game against Montreal. They’ve now done so, announcing (Twitter link) that they’ve summoned blueliner Christian Jaros from AHL Belleville.  Jaros has already played in two games with the big club after making the team out of training camp, collecting an assist while averaging 10:32 per night.
  • The New Jersey Devils also made a couple of moves late last night as well, as the team announced they have assigned forward John Quenneville to the Binghamton Devils of the AHL, while recalling forward Kevin Rooney. Quenneville, the team’s 2014 first-round pick, made the team out of training camp, but hasn’t recorded a point in four games. The team hopes to get his offense going in Binghamton. Rooney, the 25-year-old penalty-killing forward scored 14 goals with the Binghamton Devils last season and had two assists in five games this year.
  • The Dallas Stars assigned forward Roope Hintz to the Texas Stars of the AHL, according to NHL.com’s Mark Stepneski. The 21-year-old had played five games with Dallas to start the season, but has failed to tally a point so far, especially Friday when he was given the opportunity to play on the team’s first line next to Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn with Alexander Radulov out. Hintz played a career-high 17:26 and only posted two shots, a hit and a block. “You get an opportunity like that, you got to be pressuring pucks, you got to be creating more turnovers,” said Dallas head coach Jim Montgomery (via SportsDay’s Matthew DeFranks). “Didn’t see enough. It wasn’t a bad game.”
  • With neither Charlie McAvoy or Kevan Miller having skated during the pre-game skate, the Boston Bruins announced they have recalled defenseman Urho Vaakanainen from the Providence Bruins of the AHL on an emergency loan. The 19-year-old is the team’s 2017 first-round pick and has two assists in six games in his first season in North America.

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