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Rome suspended four games

THE CANADIAN PRESS June 7 2011

BOSTON — The Vancouver Canucks will have to play the remainder of the Stanley Cup final minus defenceman Aaron Rome.

The NHL suspended Rome for four games Tuesday for his blindside hit on Boston forward Nathan Horton during Boston's 8-1 victory Monday night. With three games having already been played in the final, the suspension effectively ends Rome's season.

"Two factors were considered in reaching this decision," NHL senior vice-president of Hockey Operations Mike Murphy said in a statement. "The hit by Rome was clearly beyond what is acceptable in terms of how late it was delivered after Horton had released the puck and it caused a significant injury."

Rome was assessed a five-minute major for interference and game misconduct for the hit, which came at 5:07 of the first period.

Rome will miss the remainder of the Stanley Cup final. Should the series not go the full seven games, his suspension will carry over to the start of next season.

Horton will miss the rest of the final after suffering a severe concussion as a result of the hit.

"We have to find a way to rally around it," said Boston forward Milan Lucic. "Everyone has to do a little bit more."

"I talked to him today and he said he's feeling OK."

Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron added he thought the suspension was justified.

"I think it's significant," said Bergeron. "He's not going to come back, he's done for the playoffs. But losing Horts — you can't replace him."

Horton had just passed the puck early in the first when Rome lowered his shoulder and left his skates to flatten him. Rome delivered what the Bruins saw as the kind of hit the NHL has tried to eliminate after several players sustained severe concussions.

The 26-year-old Horton, the right-winger on Boston's top line, was reportedly knocked unconscious by the collision, hitting his head on the ice and staying down for several minutes while medical personnel attended to him.

He left the game on a stretcher and was taken to hospital, where he remained overnight.

"He's been a great teammate for us all year," forward Mark Recchi, who scored two goals in Game 3, said before the decision was handed down. "It's tough to see your teammate down on the ice.

"We know it was late, but we're not in control of what the league does."

The Bruins updated Horton's condition in a release Tuesday morning.

Horton has eight goals and nine assists so far in the playoffs for Boston, which trails the best-of-seven final 2-1 heading into Game 4 on Wednesday night.

Horton is second in the playoffs with a plus-11 rating, and became the first player in NHL history to score a game-winning goal in a Game 7 twice in the same post-season run.

He skates on a line with centre David Krejci and Lucic. Boston coach Claude Julien hadn't yet decided how to replace Horton after the Bruins' victory Monday night.

"I think it's important for the whole league to protect our players from those sort of hits," said Julien.

Horton has been a hero in the post-season for Boston, which is in the Stanley Cup final for the first time in 21 years. Horton scored the winning goal in overtime in Game 7 of the first round against Montreal — and again in the Eastern Conference final, getting the only goal in Boston's 1-0 victory over Tampa Bay late in the third period.

Horton is in his first career post-season after spending his first six seasons with the Florida Panthers. The former No. 3 overall draft pick has 168 goals and 180 assists in 502 games.

Horton was Boston's second-leading goal-scorer this season with 26 and finished fourth in team scoring with 53 points.

While Horton is a key offensive player for the Bruins, the 27-year-old Rome is a depth defenceman for the Canucks, usually playing in their third pairing. He has one goal and 37 penalty minutes in the post-season.

Vancouver already lost defenceman Dan Hamhuis to an undisclosed injury in Game 1 of the final. The Canucks are deep on defence, with veteran Keith Ballard sitting out the first three games as a healthy scratch.