Brendan Lemieux sends Trent Frederic into the boards with a dirty hit.

I must admit I don't like the way hockey has moved further and further away from the more, shall we call them physical, aspects of the game, but I think even the most savage of hockey fans would be hard pressed to argue that a hit like this has a place in the game. 

On Saturday afternoon the Boston Bruins faced off against the New York Rangers in what was a pretty ugly game for the Bruins all around, so much so that head coach Bruce Cassidy could even be seen tossing a whiteboard in anger during a Bruins power play opportunity. What made the listless effort from the Bruins all the more frustrating however was the team's failure to respond to what appeared to be a blatant cheap shot delivered by the Rangers' Brendan Lemieux to the Bruins' Trent Frederic.

Frederic had just dumped the puck deep into the Rangers zone and was looking to get off the ice for a change when he was suddenly drilled from behind by Lemieux. Now the hit between the numbers along the boards would have been bad enough, but what made this one especially ugly was the fact that the Bruins had just opened the door to let Frederic back onto the bench. The hit sent Frederic right through the door of the Bruins bench and saw him land hard against the bench itself, leaving him in visible discomfort.

Now the officials did call a penalty on the play and the Bruins were awarded a two minute power play as a result of it, but I think there may be more discipline coming Lemieux's way for this one. A fine or suspension could very well be on the horizon given that these two had words prior to the start of the game, making this look like Lemieux was targeting Frederic. 

The reaction from the Bruins was made all the more disappointing when you consider just how important a piece Frederic has shown himself to be over the course of the season. Although few members of the current roster would invoke thoughts of the 'Big Bad Bruins' of the past, Frederic has shown himself very willing to get involved in that aspect of the game and has often been the one to stick up for his teammates this season.