Around The Rink 03.18.08: Suspensions From Coast to Coast

Posted by Jeremy Yoder on 03.18.2008

Around The Rink this week, another stomping incident in the NHL headlines a week full of suspensions. The Pacific Division is home to three of the top four teams in the Western Conference. We’ll take a look at those teams and the others in that division in our weekly division review. The Pens only played two games this week, but it was still a week of interesting news from one of the Eastern Conference’s top teams

Main Topics...

Colin Campbell, the NHL's Executive Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations, was a busy man this past week. He was reviewing incidents from coast to coast as players from the Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo Sabres, Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars and Anaheim Ducks all received suspensions varying in degree. We'll take a quick look at most of these, since I haven't seen video of most of them, and then talk in depth about one.

The first incident we'll mention is one involving Georges Laraque of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Laraque hit defenseman Nathan Paetsch of the Buffalo Sabres with an elbow in the face last Wednesday night. I was actually at this game and missed the hit. It was behind the play and rendered Paetsch unconscious for a short period of time. Obviously when something like this happens, the arena that the incident happens does not replay the hit on the big screen. I missed all the replays on TV as well. From what I've read though, from Pittsburgh personalities and others, the three game suspension Laraque received for the hit was absolutely fitting for the crime.

The second incident involved another Buffalo player, but this one was on the giving end. Andrew Peters was suspended for one game last Wednesday for getting involved in an altercation from the bench in a game against the New York Rangers. As regulation time ran out, Ranger tough guy Colton Orr got involved in a confrontation with some of the Sabres players, who were on the ice, near the bench. Apparently Peters felt it his duty to get involved in the situation from the bench. He didn't do much more than give Orr a face-wash, but when you're not on the ice, that's all it takes. Peters was given a 10-minute misconduct during the game and suspended two days later. A one-game suspension for something like this is fine with me. I did see a replay of this incident and what Peters did was nothing too horrific. However, you have to discourage bench players getting involved in things happening on the ice.

The third incident came from the Western Conference and the Chicago Blackhawks. James Wisniewski was given a one-game suspension for cross-checking Mikael Samuelsson of the Detroit Red Wings in the face. I did not see the replay of this infraction, but when I hear about someone getting cross-checked in the face, it sounds pretty bad. To me, a one-game suspension sounds kind of light, but again, I didn't see the replay, so I can't really say. I don't think Wisniewski has a rap-sheet in the NHL so maybe that also came into play in determining the suspension.

The fourth incident involved the Dallas Stars. Steve Ott was suspended for three games for a hit he delivered on Jordan Leopold of the Colorado Avalanche. Ott hit Leopold high with an elbow in the first period of the game against the Avs. I saw the replay of this hit and can say that the suspension was absolutely warranted. Ott hit Leopold very high and very dangerously. It wasn't an open ice hit so Leopold's head was driven into the glass. These are the kinds of hits the NHL needs to deal suspensions for and it was good to see them take some action here.


The last incident that Colin Campbell had to deal with involved a player of much higher profile than any of the other cases. Chris Pronger of the Anaheim Ducks is no stranger to Mr. Campbell. Pronger has been suspended at least seven times in his NHL career. He added another suspension last week by stomping on the leg of Vancouver Canucks center Ryan Kesler.

The play went unpenalized during the game, but was under heavy review after the game. The funny, or sad, thing was, it wasn't the league reviewing the play. Many broadcasters and hockey personalities were reviewing the hit and calling for a suspension before the league spoke about it at all. Originally the league said no action would be taken. However, following a large backlash from broadcasters and fans alike, Campbell announced an eight game suspension for the big defenseman.

An eight game suspension sounds like a lot, right? Well, not exactly. Earlier this season there was a skate-stomping incident involving Chris Simon, then of the Islanders, and Jarkko Ruutu of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Simon received an NHL record 30-game suspension for the incident. The circumstances surrounding this situation were not much different from the circumstances surrounding the Ruutu/Simon incident. The only thing that was absolutely different was that Chris Pronger is a star in this NHL.

The fact that he's a star in the league clearly led to star-favoritism. Ironically enough, eight games is the same number of games the Ducks have left in the regular season. Awfully convenient, isn't it? Doesn't Chris Simon have a list of suspensions in the NHL though? Yes, he does, but as I mentioned, so does Pronger. The decision made by Colin Campbell, after his declaration of no ruling being necessary, is a joke. What Pronger did was every bit as detestable as what Simon did. It was every bit as dangerous. The only difference is that Pronger has a name in the league and Simon doesn't. Pronger should have received at the very least 20 games for this incident. The fact that he only received eight is a huge slap in the face to everyone who follows the game, but especially to Ryan Kesler. It's a perfect example of what is wrong with the disciplinary standards in the NHL.

New Leaders In The Pacific

The San Jose Sharks are the hottest team in the NHL right now. They are 9-0-1 in their last 10 games and 11-0-1 in their last 12. Their record overall is 42-21-9 with 93 points. Being on top in this division means being second in the Western Conference, for now. The Sharks had been winning earlier this year on defense. While their defense has not wavered, their offense has picked up the pace lately. Jonathan Cheechoo has been scoring with more frequency lately while Milan Michalek has also been elevating his play. Joe Thornton continues to be the leader he was born to be both offensively and with the intangibles as well. The acquisition of Brian Campbell was a great one for the Sharks as well. He is the kind of smooth-skating defenseman that can really make things happen from the back end. Despite their offense coming around again, the heart and soul of this team remains the guy in net. Evgeni Nabokov continues to have an amazing year and play outstanding hockey. His 41 wins are tops in the league for goalies. On top of that, he gives his team the chance to win every night he plays and that's what you need out of your goalie. A lot of teams don't have that security with their goaltending, but the Sharks have nothing to worry about. Even though I said they would finish second in the division the last time I reviewed the Pacific, I think that'll have to change. The Sharks are red-hot right now and I don't see them slowing down in the regular season at all. On top of that, they have two games in hand over each of the teams right behind them in the standings. The Sharks will win this division this season. Jordan, who reads this column and posts comments regularly, was right a few weeks ago when he called me out on doubting San Jose.

Sitting at second place in the Pacific Division right now are the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks are 41-25-8 with 90 points. While the Sharks are the hottest team in the NHL right now, the Ducks aren't far behind them. They are 7-2-1 in their last 10 and 14-3-1 in their last 18 games. Is it a coincidence that the Ducks have gone on this run since Selanne has returned to the team? I doubt it. Selanne returned 18 games ago and has accumulated eight goals and seven assists while carrying a +4 rating. Selanne gives the Ducks another viable offensive option outside of Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Chris Kunitz, who are the Ducks leading scorers. Outside of those four players, scoring is hard to come by for the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks are very much middle-of-the-road offensively in goals scored, maybe even a little in the lower half of that stat. However, they are definitely one of the best defensive teams in the league. Jean-Sebastian Giguere is quietly putting together a good season for himself with 32 wins, a .922SV% and a 2.13GAA. In front of him, the Ducks are solid defensively with guys like Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer, Mathieu Schneider and Sean O'Donnell. They will have to finish the season without one of those guys, Pronger, and it will hurt them. The Ducks will fall to, and finish, third in this division as predicted in my last blog.

Currently third in this division are the Dallas Stars. At 42-27-5 with 89 points, the Stars are a team that has hit a bit of a slump. I predicted they would win this division and I don't think that is going to happen at this point. However, I do think they'll play well enough to work their way into second in the division. The Stars are an even 5-5 in their last 10 games. While that's not awful, it's not going to keep you on top in this division with teams like the Ducks and the Sharks playing so well. What has happened? It wasn't long ago that the Stars were threatening the Detroit Red Wings at the top of the Western Conference. It seems to be a mixture of things at this point. They've lost some close games where they haven't scored many goals, but they've also lost some close games where they scored goals, but allowed more. It seems like the team isn't all on the same page right now. For a team that made one of the biggest splashes at the trade deadline by acquiring former Tampa Bay Lightning center Brad Richards, this is unacceptable. The games remaining on the Stars schedule are not easy ones and will present this team with the opportunity to prove their playoff worth. In order to do that, guys like Mike Ribeiro, Brenden Morrow, Jere Lehtinen and, obviously, Brad Richards, will need to pick it up to carry this team.

Fourth place in this division sees the Phoenix Coyotes at 36-31-5 with 77 points. With 10 games left on their schedule, they are currently five points out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. I don't think anyone really expected the Coyotes to be this close to the playoffs this late in the season. Wayne Gretzky has done a good job of coaching this team though and they have a chance to sneak in. It won't be easy though. Six of their last 10 games sees them playing the Sharks, Ducks and Stars, the three teams ahead of them in their division. In order for this team to make the playoffs, they'll have to really rise to the challenge. When I look at the roster of this team, I just don't see quite enough to get that done. Shane Doan, Radim Vrbata and Peter Mueller lead this team and there just isn't much behind them to help out. While they've actually scored more goals than the Anaheim Ducks, their defense is not nearly as good. They have a lot of good, young talent on the team though. They also have a very good goalie in Ilya Bryzgalov. I'm not totally counting this team out of the playoffs yet, but Coyote fans have a lot to look forward to next season. This is a team that is a free agent signing or two away from making the playoffs. Next year may be that year. This year though, fourth place in this division will not be good enough to make the playoffs. I know I just said I'm not totally counting them out, but I guess maybe I am. The schedule is absolutely not in their favor.

Last in this division, and the league, but first in your hearts are the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings are 28-39-6 with 62 points. I haven't gotten to see, or hear, much about the Kings this year. As I've said before though, when I look at their roster I see a lot of talent, a lot of young talent. What I don't see though is someone between the pipes that can anchor a team. Their #1 guy, Jason LaBarbera, carries a save percentage of .910 and a goals against average of 3.00. He's not facing an overwhelming number of shots either. What this team needs is another good defenseman and a goalie that can shoulder the load of being a number one starter in the NHL. If they can get those tools in the off-season, this is another team that could really surprise some people next year. This year though, it's another disappointment. The Kings will obviously go on to finish last in this division and probably the league.

Hey, if I can't pick the good teams, I at least know the bad ones, right??

Weekly Pens Update

The Pens only played two games this past week. They played last Wednesday against the Buffalo Sabres in a 7-3 thumping in front of the hometown crowd and they also played on Sunday, again in Pittsburgh, against the cross-state rival Philadelphia Flyers. That also produced a beating by the final of 7-1 in favor of the Pens.

While it was a good week for the Pens, it was also a scary one. Sidney Crosby announced, unexpectedly, on Wednesday that he would not be playing against the Sabres. It was originally announced that he needed a night to rest his sore ankle. The following day, that turned into the next three games to rest that sore ankle. This is the same ankle that he injured earlier in the season that caused him to miss 21 games. High ankle sprains are nothing to mess around with and Sid raised questions by coming back from the injury as soon as he did. Taking this break does nothing to silence those questions. Hopefully Sid knows what he's doing and this break will be just what he needs to get him into action in time to warm up with his new line-mate, Marian Hossa, for the playoffs.

Speaking of Marian Hossa, he returned to the Pens lineup for his second game as a Pen on Sunday against the Flyers. This time, he got in on the action by scoring a goal and an assist against the divisional opponent Flyers. He looked very good again and will look even better with Sidney Crosby as his center. It's going to be very exciting to see those two on the ice together. Hossa knows how to finish the plays that Crosby knows how to setup.

The biggest stories of the week were the play of Petr Sykora, Tyler Kennedy and Pascal Dupuis. Sykora played well enough to earn the NHL second star of the week honors behind Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames. Sykora had three goals and three assists in the two games the Pens played last week. Tyler Kennedy came to life this past week also with two goals and two assists in the two games. Pascal Dupuis proved to be a nice throw-in to the Hossa deal with four assists in the two games the Pens played. Dupuis has been playing better than I think anyone though he could have since coming to the Pens. I knew Dupuis was a decent player, but he's really found his stride in Pittsburgh right now. Rumor has it he'll be the winger opposite Hossa on the Crosby line…that should be interesting.

Another Penguin playing strong hockey this week, and the last number of games, is Hal Gill. I took the time to bash him when the Pens acquired him, and after he played poorly in his first few games as a Penguin, so I should take time to praise him. Gill has been much better since very shortly after I criticized him so sharply a few weeks ago. I'm sure the two are related, just kidding, but he deserves some kudos. His positioning has been much better of late, especially in the defensive zone of the ice. He has been blocking shots and clearing bodies and pucks, which is what he was acquired to do. He's also moving and shooting the puck very well, getting his first goal as a Penguin on Sunday against the Flyers. He's looking like a better pickup every day. I mentioned while bashing him that maybe he just needed time to fit into his new team and that appears to be exactly what the case was. Hopefully he'll continue his good play because the Pens will need it come playoff time. It will present an interesting question when Scuderi is able to return to the lineup though…who sits on defense?

This coming week sees the Penguins play in New York against the Rangers on Tuesday night, at home against the Lightning on Thursday, at home against the Devils on Saturday and back in New York against the Islanders next Monday. There are three big divisional games there that the Pens really need to win. They are battling for first in the division and the conference and can't afford to lose any ground right now.

Random Thoughts

What is it about the NCAA basketball tournament that gets people so into it? I don't understand it. Granted, I don't like watching basketball at all, but even people who generally don't like basketball get very into this tournament. I had a conversation today with a friend about this and he tried to explain it to me. I fail to see it though. I just can't get into it. As an aspiring sports journalist, I understand that I may have to pay attention to it someday. When that day comes, I will most certainly fulfill my duty. However, I still don't think I'll feel the passion for this thing that most do. What's wrong with me? Can anybody put this thing into an explanation that makes sense to me? I challenge you to sway me into watching the tournament or at least making me understand why it's so great. I just don't get it.

More Next Tuesday...

I'll be back next week with another column. Please send any comments, questions, suggestions or a topic that would interest you to [e-mail].