The Buffalo Sabres have to move on from the league’s decision not to suspend Matt Bartkowski for his hit on Brian Gionta, but that doesn’t mean they have to like it.
The team vented to the Buffalo News regarding the lack of supplemental discipline for the Boston Bruins defenseman.
“It’s never a good thing to see,” Sabres blueliner Josh Gorges said. “You never want to see anybody get hurt, and hopefully he’s not out too long. I’m not really sure how that’s handled. It was a five-minute penalty, major and a game. I thought it was supposed to be an automatic hearing and review. But they make their decisions and we live with it.”
Sabres head coach Ted Nolan almost seems to wonder if there’s something wrong with the culture of the sport.
“Sometimes, unfortunately, some of your players put themselves in vulnerable positions,” Nolan said. “Does that give you the green light to hit them in that position? Sometimes the sportsmanship should come out but, once in a while, that doesn’t seem to be the fact anymore.”
Here’s video of the hit:
Bartkowski received a game misconduct for his actions. The Sabres told the Buffalo News that Gionta has an upper-body injury, yet they don’t believe that it’s a concussion.