Have a Major

Miroslav Satan and Petr Sykora picked up their first fighting majors last night.  Never mind that punches sans gloves never happened, the gloved shots seemed to be enough to warrant FMs.  Gloves were shed, but there was only some hugging and dancing before the Czech and Slovak were easily split apart by the linesmen.  Velvety, I guess.

Later in that Isles-Pens game Darryl Sydor took on Tim Jackman.  Sydor, in his second fight since the pre-lockout 2003-04 season, took a shot or two from the bigger Jackman.

There was one other fight, BJ Crombeen taking on Kyle McLaren after McLaren laid-out Toby Petersen deep in the Sharks’ zone.

I’ll see your McKenzie and raise you a Spector

The fight-filled QMJHL game that made it across media outlets, thanks to Patrick Roy‘s son Jonathan being involved, has sparked the latest “why is fighting still there?” debate.

Bob McKenzie is a good NHL analyst to have.  He’s a staple come trade deadline day, and free agent signing day.  His latest blog entry is that he’s ambivalent about fighting in hockey and doesn’t care whether or not it’s tolerated.  My favorite not-really-fighting-related part:

But if it were announced tomorrow that fighting in any league, including the NHL or Major Junior hockey, would be punishable by automatic ejection, I wouldn’t stop watching it, I wouldn’t stop buying a ticket. I wouldn’t wring my hands and say, woe is me.

Bob McKenize of TSN buys hockey tickets?  Seriously?  Are we supposed to believe that?

I definitely got a laugh from that one.

Mark Spector of the National Post had a different view on the “controversy”:

I love the game and have covered the league for nearly 20 years. But sports writers do not get the right to call themselves fans, because my press pass gets me in for free. I make no tangible investment in the game.

...

The Canadian hockey fan likes fighting in the NHL—period. This isn’t about junior hockey. It’s about the NHL, a league that has never been healthier in Canada than it is today.

So where is the debate?

NHL players don’t want to ban fighting. NHL management does not want to ban fighting. NHL fans express nightly that they like a good tussle.

The debate is in the only place it’s ever been, the media.

McCarty to play tonight

Ansar Khan is reporting that Darren McCarty should be in the Wings lineup tonight against the Blues:

“He told me he’s ready to go. I expect to see him in the lineup,” Holland said. “I’m excited for him. I like Darren, he’s worked very hard to get himself in this position. I’m hopeful he can help us.”

Philly talk

Thanks to Steve in the Philly area for letting me know about Riley Cote and Kidd Chris on the Kidd Chris Show talking about hockey, fights, and this website.  I don’t have a clip of it, but if anyone out there does, give me a shout.

Videos added

B.J. Crombeen vs Kyle McLaren Mar 27, 2008
Tim Jackman vs Darryl Sydor Mar 27, 2008
Miroslav Satan vs Petr Sykora Mar 27, 2008
Jeff Cowan vs Ian Laperriere Mar 26, 2008
Zack Stortini vs Derek Boogaard Mar 26, 2008
Brent Seabrook vs Aaron Rome Mar 26, 2008

Some reads

Fedoruk a believer in tough-guy role
Staals put brotherly love aside to fight for cup
Seventh heaven with Lucic
Work along boards leads to goal
Ex-Leaf fought ‘didn’t get shot’
Sharks might have score to settle with Ducks
Avery hated by fans, but can get the job done
The Rangers Go 7 for 7 Against the Devils
Goalie Rivalry Gets ‘Weird’

NHL Hits of the Week Mar 27, 2008

From the NHL:

Two for Tootoo

Five fights last night and they all took place in the West.

Jordin Tootoo had a pair of scraps in the Predators 3-0 win over the Blue Jackets last night. An eventful third period saw Tootoo drop the gloves in a quick fight with Jan Hejda and then lock horns with Jason Chimera on his very next shift. Shea Weber and Aaron Rome also danced earlier on in the third.

Taylor Pyatt participated in one of his seemingly annual heavyweight scraps last night against a familiar opponent in Jim Vandermeer.

Rounding out the night, Craig Weller had a go with Doug Murray in Coyotes-Sharks. Afterwards it was questionable whether Wayne Gretzky was smiling at Weller’s killer left or Daniel Carcillo‘s failed deke of Evgeni Nabokov moments before the fight.

Roys Suspended

Following Saturday’s game, both Jonathan and Patrick Roy have been suspended.

Videos added

Doug Murray vs Craig Weller Mar 25, 2008
Taylor Pyatt vs Jim Vandermeer Mar 25, 2008
Jason Chimera vs Jordin Tootoo Mar 25, 2008
Jan Hejda vs Jordin Tootoo Mar 25, 2008
Aaron Rome vs Shea Weber Mar 25, 2008

Some reads

Iron Mike makes Huselius vanish
Penguins Q&A with Dave Molinari
Dallas Stars hope injured players adjust quickly
Stability helps Liles rebound
Phaneuf’s tactics fail to pay off
Panthers’ push for playoffs stalls out in big way
Committee favours new arena for Edmonton
Apple of his (black) eye
Ovechkin Picks Up 61, Caps Get 2

Wild, Wilder and Wilderer

The Minnesota Wild started the season with Derek Boogaard.

Towards the end of November, when it was becoming clear that Boogaard’s back was going to cause him to miss games, the Wild picked Todd Fedoruk off of waivers.

At the trade deadline Minnesota then traded for Chris Simon.

Boogaard recently returned after missing a large chunk of games and few doubted the Wild would ever dress the big three.  Friday night, all three were in the lineup against the Canucks.  There were no fights that night.  The Wild won the game, 2-1.

Saturday, the Wild only made one line-up change, starting Harding in net.  Unlike Friday each of the big three dropped the gloves against the Flames.  Boogaard took on a familiar foe in Eric Godard about five minutes into the game.  Somehow the heavyweight match-up became an undercard when Simon fought Jim Vandermeer just seconds later.  A longer, more energetic scrap, Simon dropped Vandy.  The crowd and both benches were fired up for what continued to be a hard-fought game through all three periods.  In the third period it was time for the Fridge to have a go.  He found a willing partner in Cory Sarich.  The Flames took the game that went down to the wire, 5-4.  Another three from that evening: Jarome Iginla’s natural hat trick.

St… Joe?

Patrick Roy‘s son Jonathan was involved in a brawl Saturday night that could lead to supplemental punishment.  We’ve added the video to our videos page along with other QMJHL action (or find it on the game page).  The Québec Remparts and Chicoutimi Saguenéens have played two games of a seven-game playoff series.  The series is currently split 1-1.

Videos added

David Backes vs Niklas Hjalmarsson Mar 23, 2008
Shane Hnidy vs Steve Begin Mar 22, 2008
P.J. Axelsson vs Maxim Lapierre Mar 22, 2008
Todd Fedoruk vs Cory Sarich Mar 22, 2008
Chris Simon vs Jim Vandermeer Mar 22, 2008
Derek Boogaard vs Eric Godard Mar 22, 2008
Brian Sutherby vs Daniel Carcillo Mar 22, 2008
Cody McLeod vs Matt Greene Mar 22, 2008
Ian Laperriere vs Steve Staios Mar 22, 2008
George Parros vs Jody Shelley Mar 21, 2008
Josef Vasicek vs Rod Pelley Mar 21, 2008
Matthew Spiller vs Arron Asham Mar 21, 2008
Bill Guerin vs David Clarkson Mar 21, 2008

Some reads

Retrievers must be dogged
Fighting for what’s right
Tugs-of-war take their toll on Amerks
Scott Gomez’s ribs bruised, not broken
Injury sparks debate on no-touch icing
Teams with 90 points may fall short of playoffs
A little bit of separation
QMJHL mulls sanctions against Roy after brawl
Will Islanders give Nolan contract extension?
Company in 60-Goal Club

Bracket Busters

A trio of fights last night.

Tom Kostopoulos took on Jeremy Reich early, and then there was a bit of a lull until the later games.

Nathan McIver and Zack Stortini were talking it up after a whistle.  They kept going until the puck was dropped again, but the fight wound up being a lot shorter than any of the yapping that was going on.

Ian Laperriere and Jim Vandermeer wasted no time dropping the gloves in the Avs-Flames game.  Just nine seconds in and the two went at it after a whistle stopped play.

Videos added

Ian Laperriere vs Jim Vandermeer Mar 20, 2008
Nathan McIver vs Zack Stortini Mar 20, 2008

Kostopoulos-Reich will be added soon.

Some reads

Sharks hoping Clowe can return before playoffs
Hockey punch overblown
No-touch icing would eliminate ‘car wrecks,’ Sharks’ Wilson says
Injured Richard Zednik keeping busy rehabbing, but misses the action
Disappointing return by Chara
Breaking the ice for visitors
IceDogs agitator; Legein back to rough and tumble style just in time for playoffs
Atlantic going to wire
When Tradition and Taunts Collide: Gay Hockey Fans Criticize Garden
Has Richards deal killed Stars’ chemistry?

No Quit

There were three lengthy fights last night.

It started early, with Sean Avery and David Clarkson dropping the gloves just 35 seconds into the Rangers-Devils game.  They fought for about an hour or so before falling to the ice.

In the Ducks-Stars game Brad May and Krys Barch went for the fourth time this season.  Two of the other fights are among the top rated fights of the season, and this one will likely come close to them in voting.  “Wanna make a highlight reel?”

The three other May-Barch fights this season: Nov 5, 2007, Nov 21, 2007 and Jan 15, 2008.

Lastly, Derek Boogaard got into his first scrap since Nov 23.  His opponent then, and last night, was Jody Shelley, although Shelley switched team jerseys in-between.  Boogaard didn’t look rusty, maintaining control throughout the bout.

Attenzione! Carcillo vicino

Tuesday’s Coyotes-Oilers game led to a couple of articles yesterday about Daniel Carcillo from up north.

Jim Matheson of The Edmonton Journal defines Carcillo as the new breed of tough guy

Carcillo is essentially the new breed of the NHL tough guy. He can play a regular shift, skate and shoot, get on your nerves and he likes to fight. He’s not your true night watchman because he doesn’t weigh 260 pounds like Laraque or Boogaard or Raitis Ivanans.

“I tried to fight Ivanans once ... he tagged me one and I was gone. I cut him, so I was pretty happy, though,” said Carcillo.

Mark Spector of the National Post declares Carcillo a new breed of fighter (see a trend?).

Carcillo states that coach Wayne Gretzky isn’t really concerned about the fighting as much as his post-penalty penalties: mostly Carcillo mouthing off and picking up extras.

An interesting tidbit towards the end of Spector’s article:

Laraque predicts that the NHLPA will vote to push for the abolition of the instigator rule. The topic was addressed during new NHLPA head Paul Kelly’s fall tour, and will come up again at the union’s summer meetings. Should Kelly get the go-ahead from his players, he could then approach the league about dropping the instigator.

And Laraque thinks that could end the trend towards players like Carcillo.

“That’s their job - to draw penalties. Now [without the instigator penalty] you can beat the piss out of the people who do that, and not get two minutes extra,” Laraque said. “Most of the guys in league, they hate these agitators.”

Videos added

Brad May vs Krys Barch Mar 19, 2008
Derek Boogaard vs Jody Shelley Mar 19, 2008
Sean Avery vs David Clarkson Mar 19, 2008

Note that the two clips on the Avery-Clarkson page contain basically the same video, but one has Doc and Chico announcing (MSG+) and the other has Sam and Joe (MSG).

Some reads

Boulton, Holik get in shoving match
Fritsche’s solid game backs up tough talk
The years fly by
Barch has another marathon fight
Team Canada in Kandahar for ball-hockey rematch
Curtis Brown back after missing 25 games
Will late push save Panthers, Martin?
Garden of Grit
Okposo’s debut only excitement in Isles’ loss
Wrestlers fit right in with Buffalo tough guys
Top Madison Square Garden chants
Stevens’ job should depend on playoff berth

NHL Hits of the Week Mar 19, 2008

From the NHL:

Slow St Patrick’s

Just two games last night, only one fight, but it was a good one.

Daniel Carcillo took on Rick Rypien mid-way through the first period of the Canucks 3-1 win over the Coyotes.

Carcillo racked up 21 PIMs last night.  Two of them led to the Canucks third goal.  Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky said Carcillo’s a target:

“I thought Danny played a tremendous game,” Gretzky said. “His penalty late in the (second) period where they ended up scoring their third goal, I thought the call wasn’t warranted. It was two guys pushing each other and Danny gets the extra penalty. He’s definitely a marked man.”

Welcome back Boogey

Derek Boogaard played his first game last night since Jan 22.

Fighting Canes

With Wade Brookbank and Tim Conboy on the roster the Carolina Hurricanes have the most fighting majors since 1997-98, the first season the team played in Carolina.  Thanks to Luke DeCock of The News & Observer for pointing that out.

Commenting fixed

Thanks to those who sent me email about the blog commenting being down.  It’s been fixed.

Video added

Daniel Carcillo vs Rick Rypien Mar 17, 2008

Some reads

Pronger stomp part of NHL culture: Stewart
Okposo prepares for NHL debut | Isles’ Kyle Okposo ready for debut
New lease on NHL life
Sharks Shelley got ‘too excited’ on play that led to penalty

Sunday Mix

A few fights yesterday that you might have been able to predict, and some, well, you couldn’t.

The NBC game of the week was the Pennsylvania rivalry of Flyers-Penguins.  Normally a good match-up, the only thing the Flyers walked away with was a quick drop of Ryan Malone to the ice by Riley Cote, and that’s still a maybe.  The Pens pounded the Flyers 7-1 on the scoreboard.

Adam Burish dropped Eric Nystrom later in the afternoon.  Nystrom skated away fine, but it was definitely a nice shot by Burish.  Nystrom seems very willing to fight to stay in the NHL, but not to get there.  Nystrom has just two AHL fights in 108 games in the A, yet eight fights in 42 in the NHL.

Martin Lapointe dropped the gloves for the first time as a member of the Senators against Tim Conboy.

Eric Boulton went twice in a mid-afternoon game.  He took on Wade Belak in the first, and then Branislav Mezei in a not-as-expected bout in the second.  Boulton had more than a few words for Mezei in the penalty box afterwards while gesturing with his helmet, most likely upset that Mezei was so willing to keep his visor on.

Skeptical suspensions

After waiting to find out Chris Pronger was justifiably suspended, when it first looked like nothing was going to happen, but then to find out he received 8 games for virtually the same act that earned Chris Simon 30 just makes no sense.  From blogger Tom Benjamin to Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail, everyone seems to agree.  Duhatschek refers to Simon as a fringe player.  In the stage of his career he’s not as productive as he once was, but he has logged 777 NHL games while scoring 144 goals. It is important to note that this is the eighth time Pronger, the Hart-winner, has been suspended.  Same as Simon.

Meanwhile, somehow Georges Laraque received a three-game suspension for this.  Unlike Pronger (or Simon), Laraque has never been suspended.  620+ NHL games, not once.

Saturday I linked to the the Post-Gazette’s Laraque unhappy with 3-game suspension.

Georges reiterated his feelings to hockeyfights.com yesterday saying, “I didn’t raise my elbow, or intend to hurt him in any way. I’m not that type of player.”  He added, “I think the fact Nathan got nailed by Avery the game before and played against us, when he should not have, contributed more to his concussion.”

I took the opportunity to ask what he thought of Cote taking on Malone in a game that he couldn’t take part in.  Big Georges said “He was just doing his job, he didn’t do anything bad. He finished his check, then got jumped, so [he] fought back. Nothing bad to say about that.”

More:
- The Post-Gazette’s Dave Molinari took on a question from a fan about Laraque’s suspension.
- From LetsGoSabres.com: Laraque Suspended - Buffalo defense takes another injury blow

Roy’s return date unknown

A Lightning source has told hockeyfights.com that Andre Roy is still off the team for now, but he might return for practice.  Roy was sent home by the team a week ago.

Tampa is on the road this week, starting with the Buffalo Sabres Tuesday night.  No word yet on whether or not Roy is traveling with the team.

Keeping up with the game

Former NHLer, current Coyotes radio color analyst Louie DeBrusk stops by to keep his title of “the Fight Doctor” (dubbed frequently from Darren Pang and Dave Strader):

ONE HEAVY TO ANOTHER

Coyotes radio commentator Louie DeBrusk, a former Oilers enforcer, stopped throwing punches years ago, but he still follows the fistic game through hockeyfights.com.

So far, he likes what he has seen of Zack Stortini. He likes the winger’s agitating style.

“He’s going to be an active fighter. I think he has the potential (to fight the heavyweights), but there are some big dudes out there. The one thing that Stortini can do that some of the other guys can’t do is he can get around the ice. He bangs bodies.

“He’s a glimpse of the future of what an NHL tough guy is going to be like, just as (Dan) Carcillo is here. They run around, hit people but will also drop the gloves.”

If you have a problem with Pang and Strader’s nickname of the former NHL tough guy, just be sure to look over your shoulder a couple of times.  Not only is DeBrusk a part of the broadcast team, but Jim Cummins is also an in-studio analyst.  Pang was once heard saying with all the enforcers around he feels almost five feet tall (just teasin’ Panger).

Videos added

Eric Nystrom vs Adam Burish Mar 16, 2008
Eric Boulton vs Branislav Mezei Mar 16, 2008
Riley Cote vs Ryan Malone Mar 16, 2008
Joe Rooney vs Kelly Miller Mar 1, 2008 (ECHL)
Bryce Salvador vs Cody McLeod Mar 15, 2008
Riley Cote vs Shawn Thornton Mar 15, 2008

Some DVR issues led to me missing Boulton-Belak and Lapointe-Conboy, hope to add those soon.

Some reads

Fighters get a black eye
Laich Crashes the Crease
This playoff party is all but finished
Proof the NHL has an odd sense of justice
Captains courageous
Stevens must lead Flyers to playoffs
Renney might be too smart to be a coach

Sabres-Canes Open Up

6-0 scores can still lead to games getting chippy and nasty, even in today’s “new” NHL.

With the Sabres up by six over the Hurricanes, any little thing was able to cause a scrum.

Carolina goaltender John Grahame, who replaced Cam Ward early on, didn’t like Daniel Paille snowing him, and slashed the back of his legs to let him know it.  Players gathered around and Scott Walker and Paul Gaustad exchanged punches with linesmen attached to them.

Later on Tim Conboy retaliated for a hit Patrick Kaleta threw on Patrick Eaves.  Adam Mair stepped in and the two threw some swinging shots at one another.

There was one other fight last night, between Jamal Mayers and Craig Rivet.

Videos added

Jamal Mayers vs Craig Rivet Mar 14, 2008
Tim Conboy vs Adam Mair Mar 14, 2008
Scott Walker vs Paul Gaustad Mar 14, 2008

Some reads

Laraque unhappy with 3-game suspension
NHL to review Pronger ‘stomp’
Fightin’ Flames Fraternity
Gretzky: Carcillo penalty ‘unfair’
Fight in practice shows emotion may be returning
Simon: N.H.L. Should Punish Pronger, Too
Thrashers Owner: Team ‘moving in right direction’