HIGHS AND LOWS
Hab out of hospital, two-game suspension follows war of words
Gryba suspended for Eller hit,
BROSSARD, QUE.— It didn’t take long for the first NHL playoff series between Canadian teams since 2004 to turn into a war both on and off the ice.
Montreal Canadiens coach Michel Therrien accused Ottawa Senators counterpart Paul MacLean of “disrespect” on Friday for his comments about a hit by Eric Gryba that put Habs centre Lars Eller in hospital — a play that landed Gryba a two-game suspension on Friday.
Therrien said MacLean showed no compassion for the injured player when he placed the blame after Game 1 of their Eastern Conference quarter-final on Eller and Canadiens defenceman Raphael Diaz, who made the pass that led to Ottawa defenceman Eric Gryba’s crushing hit.
Eller, one of the Montreal’s hottest forwards with 13 points in the final 12 games of the regular season, suffered a concussion, as well as facial and dental damage in the second period of Ottawa’s 4-2 win on Thursday. He was released from hospital Friday and was resting at home. The team had no estimate on how long he would be out of action.
Gryba was suspended for an “an illegal check to the head.” The rookie had not previously been disciplined by the league.
Eller looked to be out cold on his feet as he crashed face-first to the ice and was bleeding heavily as he was taken from the Bell Centre ice on a stretcher.
“We do not see malicious intent by Gryba on this play. Eller is eligible to be checked and Gryba does not extend an elbow or launch into the head,” Brendan Shanahan, the NHL’s senior vice-president of hockey operations and player safety, said in a video posted on the league’s website. “However, Gryba’s route is not correct and we do not feel that he makes enough of a full body check for this hit not to qualify as an illegal check to the head.” Therrien spoke to the media prior to the league’s announcement and was still seething about MacLean’s comments. “Inappropriate comment,” said Therrien. “No respect for the player on the ice who was bleeding. No respect for his family in the stands.” Shanahan said the Diaz pass had no impact on the hit: “The pass that Eller received just prior to the check is completely irrelevant to whether or not Gryba delivers a reckless, illegal check to the head,” he said. Canadiens enforcer Brandon Prust was still angry at MacLean. “I don’t care what that bug-eyed, fat walrus has to say,” Prust said.