Haggerty On Toucher & Rich: Expect 'Defensive Adventures' With Corvo On Ice
BOSTON (CBS) - The Boston Bruins couldn't clinch a playoff spot Thursday night, falling to the Washington Capitals 3-2 in a shootout.
But causing more concern is the status of Adam McQuaid, who had to be helped off the ice after taking a hit from behind in the first period. CSNNE's Joe Haggerty joined 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich on Friday, and said seeing the Bruins defenseman go down the way he did does not look good for Boston.
"It looked like a train wreck. It looked awful mostly because (Jason) Chimera had such a long striding start... it looked upwards of 10 strides; that's textbook charging," Haggerty said. "Honestly, I felt like that hit was very much like the Andrew Ference one where he got suspended for three games in this respect. I don't think there was really intent to injure, but he was going so fast that it was a completely reckless hit… (Chimera) may hear from the league and he should as a result of that."
Read: Chimera Hit Should Draw Suspension From Shanahan
"McQuaid is a tough guy; he doesn't go down and stay down like that unless there is something seriously wrong," said Haggs. "We'll see what happens, they're going to wait and see today and see how he is, but I'd be stunned if he doesn't have some kind of serious thing going on after that. He has a history of concussions, so we'll see what happens."
Already down a defender with Dennis Seidenberg nursing an infected cut on his leg, the Bruins relied on Joe Corvo Thursday night. Corvo was benched for two weeks and the Bruins defense seemed to find their stride. Will Corvo being thrown back into the mix be a good or bad thing for the Bruins?
"That remains to be seen. He was obviously fine last night, no glairing issues or big problems," said Haggerty. "But as much as Claude Julian wants to say he wasn't the weak link on this team defensively, I don't think it's any coincidence that he gets scratched and he's up in the press box and the Bruins don't allow more than 2 goals a game in the six games he's scratched and the win five of six and find their defensive identity."
"You're going to run into some defensive adventures when Corvo is on the ice," he said of Corvo. "He's not a good defensive defenseman. He's supposed to be out there creating offense and doing things on the PP. He's going to lead to defensive problems when he's out there at points, and I think that could put a strain on this team if he's playing significant minutes."
How serious is Seidenberg's infection? And how much of Tim Thomas can we expect to see over the final five games of the season? Plus, which lower seed does Haggerty think will give Boston the most problems in the playoffs?
