Marc Savard

Yesterday, reports surfaced out of the Philadelphia Flyers camp that their captain Chris Pronger would be out for the rest of the season, including the playoffs.

With the Flyers showing signs that they can compete for the Lord Stanley's Cup this year, this news has many Broad Street Bullies' fans worried.

However, their concern should not only be about their All-Star defender's season, but his career as well.

We've heard and seen this before: the Boston Bruins' power play is struggling. That isn't the only thing hurting the defending champions, but with this being a continuous problem it is getting old. It's not like their power play picked up during their Cup run either; they had the worst power play ever for a Stanley Cup winning team, going 10-for-88 in the postseason.

For a player to get his name forever engraved on Lord Stanley's Cup, he needs to play in 41 regular season games,or appear in just one Stanley Cup Final game.

Boston Bruins forward Marc Savard has filled none of those requirements. However, teams can request for special reasons that a player be exempt from this league rule.

It took 39 years, but it was well worth the wait. Any Boston Bruins fan will tell you that it was an emotional ride to the end of Game 7 in Vancouver, starting with the seven game series against Montreal.

Last week, an ESPN article reported that Boston Bruins center Marc Savard was concerned about memory problems he was dealing with as a result of his second concussion in less than a year.

Since the rule changes following the lockout, the speed of the game in the NHL has increased significantly.Everybody who knows anything about physics knows that when something increases its speed, there is a bigger ending momentum and ultimately impact.

Rule 48 was implemented in that late stages of last season to try and curtail the head shots that were taking place. 48.1, titled, "Illegal Check to the Head" sets out that "A lateral or blind side hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or the principal point of contact is not permitted."

Explain to me why the NHL is turning into a fulltime, million dollar, goon squad sport?

Just last night, Max Pacioretty was the latest victim in a slew of career threatening injuries that have faced multiple NHL players over the past few seasons.

Add to that list other up-and-coming players such as David Booth, Marc Savard, and even more recently Sidney Crosby.

Marc Savard took a nasty hit by none other than the low-class punching bag we all know as Matt Cooke last March, forcing him to miss significant time last season that lasted all the way into much of this season.

Savard was suffering from post-concussion symptoms that left him unable to play.

For those that can’t remember January 15^th 1968, it was just another average day in the 60’s. Although for the family and friends of Bill Masterton, it was a day consumed by tragedy. Two days earlier Masterton took to the ice as a member of the Minnesota North Stars against the Oakland Seals in what was to be his final game.

Most fans of the Boston Bruins do not remember what they were doing on March 8, 2010. Remind them that it was the day after Pittsburgh Penguin Matt Cooke ended the season of Boston's Marc Savard, and they will not hide the disgust and anger they harbor towards Cooke especially since Savard will miss the remainder of the 2010-2011 season after incurring his second concussion in eleven months.