Paille/By S. Bradley

BOSTON — In the immediate aftermath of his February hit on Raymond Sawada and the subsequent four-game suspension he received for it, Daniel Paille was defiant about the hit not being a violation of Rule 48.

Over time, Paille has come to understand he could’ve done something different to avoid contact with the Dallas forward’s head.

Maybe down the road, Vancouver’s Aaron Rome will admit the error of his ways when it comes to his hit in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final that knocked Nathan Horton out of the series and in turn earned Rome a four-game suspension.

But for now, Rome is sticking to the notion that his hit was clean and he’s the unfortunate victim of a suspension. After taking the morning skate to prepare for tonight’s Game 6 of the Cup Final, Paille said he hopes that in the long run the suspensions for Rome and other players have an effect on the way the game’s played.

“After looking at it, I think [Rome] can avoid that type of situation. If [Horton] had the puck, I think it’s obviously a whole different story. But with the puck not there, I think that maybe he can lay off a bit,” he said.

“You can’t change if you feel no guilt. So I think for me in my situation, I realized I could change something a little bit. But some people are different. That’s what he decided to do. And if he wants to do that again, that’s fine. But he obviously has to realize that he’s probably going to face a possible suspension again.”

Published By Mon. June 13, 2011 2:35 pm EDT