The Philadelphia Flyers winger delivered a sucker punch to Washington Capitals’ Matt Bradley which has ended up costing him 4 days in suspensions plus a whopping 29 minutes in penalties.  What a bad night for Philly since they lost 8-2 on home ice.

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Carcillo is “the first player in NHL history to draw 29 minutes in penalties without drawing a single minute from his opponent.”  What an honor!

If this wasn’t this clown’s third suspension, I might be a little more sympathetic but if you’re gonna act like a goon, you gotta learn to take the penalties.

You be the judge – was the punishment excessive?  Puck Daddy points out that Scott Walker got away with a similar punch during the last post-season so there is a valid argument about the continued unfairness in NHL justice.  Either way, here’s the video:

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Kronwall will be out for about a month and had to be helped from the ice since he couldn’t put any weight on that left leg.  He suffered a significant sprain of the medial collateral ligament.  “There is no ACL damage and that’s good news,” Red Wings’ general manager Ken Holland said.  “They are saying it’s between a Grade 2 and a Grade 3 sprain; Grade 3 being the most severe. So he’s out a month for sure and beyond that, it depends on how he heals.”

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A melee had broken out between the teams and it was just one of many scrums that happened as a result but you, obviously, cannot hit someone while you’re on the bench.   O’Brien will miss Thursday’s game at Minnesota but will be eligible to return on Friday at Dallas.

Here’s a video of the chaos:

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image: TSN

The hit took place during the first period after the Coyotes were left shorthanded for having too many men on the ice.  Wisniewski crossed the Ducks blueline and delivered a hard blow to Doan’s head.

There wasn’t a penalty assessed at the time for the hit but as soon as play stopped, Coyotes d-man, Keith Yandle, decided to send Wisniewski a message.  As a result, he was given a 10-minute game misconduct and two minutes in the box for instigating.

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Initially, the scrum began with Lucic and Habs defenceman, Mathieu Schneider, pushing each other in front of the Montreal net.  They were each assessed a penalty (cross-checking for Lucic and high-sticking for Schneider).  Lapierre got in on the action and was quickly hit in the face by Lucic, who earned the match penalty (Rule 60.4 requires a call be made when “a player or goaltender attempts to or deliberately injures an opponent while carrying or holding any part of his stick above the shoulders of the opponent”).

I hope it was worth it because this is the playoffs and teams really can’t afford to lose players from their lineup.  I know the Bruins lead the series 2-0 but I don’t believe that Montreal is going to go down without a fight and tonight’s game will be the first at the Bell Centre.  I can’t wait.

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It has been almost nine years since the Blue Jackets were added to the NHL and I’m sure this victory was sweet since they were the only active team to have never qualified for the postseason.  They only needed one point to secure the playoff spot.  “To get that one point was huge, to come back after being down 2-0,” Rick Nash said. “To get the win was even more important. We’re going to try to win these last two games to keep our position in the standings. I don’t know if it’s quite sunk in yet. We’re so used to playing out the season.”

There are only four playoff berths remaining but the Blackhawks also need a single point to make it to the postseason for the first time since 2002 (and only its second in 11 seasons).

I’m glad the Calgary Flames traded Kristian Huselius to them because he really had lost his game and it seems like he’s back to playing the way that he should.  Of course, rookie goaltender, Steve Mason, is making a huge impact despite suffering for a while with mononucleosis.  Will he lead this team to the finals in his first year in the NHL the way Cam Ward did for the Carolina Hurricanes?  I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

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The league has suspended him for five games without pay – he will forfeit $56,451.61 of his salary to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

The Kings can put him back in the lineup on February 14, 2009 for the game against the Edmonton Oilers.

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The suspension occurred during a telephone call with NHL Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations, Colin Campbell.  Ruutu, who was suspended for the same amount of time earlier this season for elbowing Maxim Lapierre (Montreal Canadiens) to the head, will forfeit $31,707.32 in salary. 

Honestly, I’m inclined to think that biting should warrant more than two games, especially since Ruutu has already been suspended this season.

image: TSN

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Watch the video.  Not cool.

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