Friday night fists of fury: Who is to blame for Isles-Pens brawl?

The fallout continues from Friday night's brawl-filled tilt between the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins that featured 11 game misconducts, 15 fighting majors, and 346 penalty minutes. Late Saturday night, the NHL handed suspensions to three players and fined New York for their inability to control their players. GMs, owners, writers, commentators, and fans have all expressed varying opinions on the game and the disciplinary actions that followed.

The actions and infractions

Martin received a four game suspension for mugging Maxime Talbot at center ice. The commentators, among others, compared this instance with the vicious Todd Bertuzzi incident from 2004 that left Steve Moore with three fractured vertebrae in his neck and ended his hockey career. Warning: this video is graphic and can be very disturbing:

While similar, the difference in these two plays is that one combatant exercised last-second better judgment and restraint to a player in an extremely vulnerable position, but the other obviously did not. Martin certainly warranted the punishment he received, probably deserved a couple more games, but to be compared to one of the most notorious plays in NHL history is unfair.

Is what Martin did to Talbot any more dangerous than what Philadelphia Flyers forward Daniel Briere (and league-selected All-Star) did to Frans Nielsen earlier this season?

 
Briere received three games for that infraction. Now, onto the second disgusting spectacle from Friday night:

Trevor Gillies was slapped with a well-deserved nine game ban for a hit to the head, dropping the gloves against a defenseless opponent, and his bonehead decision to taunt an injured player. Eric Godard received an automatic 10 game suspension for leaving the bench to protect goalie Brent Johnson (who as you'll see later on, can handle himself).

The following is a statement from NHL Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell:

"The actions by the Islanders' Gillies and Martin were deliberate attempts to injure by delivering blows to the head of players who were unsuspecting and unable to defend themselves. The message should be clear to all players: targeting the head of an opponent by whatever means will be dealt with by suspension."

Fair enough. In addition, the Islanders organization was slapped with a $100,000 fine for what Campbell called "their failure to control their players". The problem here is Penguins coach Dan Bylsma also failed to control his players throughout the game, yet received no penalty for what happened Friday night. Only one player left their bench all night, Godard of Pittsburgh. One can assume the NHL disagrees with the age-old saying goes "it takes two to tango".

The cause(s)

• Islanders vs. Penguins, February 2nd, 2011 - The Isles were shutout 3-0 in a game where they were outplayed, outhit, and downright embarrassed. Talbot (the main target Friday night) hit an unsuspecting Blake Comeau up high, causing a concussion but was not penalized or suspended. The physical Pens pummeled the diminutive Isles all night and culminated with a brawl at the end of the game:

• The hit on Comeau, combined with image of smiles and laughs on the Pittsburgh bench surely served as the impetus for the fiasco Friday night, but it is more than just that one game. The Islanders, for years now, have been physically abused time-after-time by their opponents, while the on-ice officials and members of the NHL front office failed to do their jobs of punishing the guilty parties. Whether correct or not, this forced the close-knit team to police themselves, and police they did.  

• The Islanders were recently referred to by some on Canada's SportsCentre as "doormats". With this statement fresh in their minds, the players got fed up real quick and decided they needed to act. 

The aftermath

Scores of NHL officials, anchors, and writers lashed out at the Islanders for their actions. Some made valid points, while others simply made wild accusations and failed to do their research. Damien Cox of the Toronto Star tweeted the following:

"Gillies, Haley, Martin - where do the Islanders dig up these thugs? Not one of them could score 10 goals in a full ECHL season."

Actually, Micheal Haley has scored more than 10 goals in a season in both the ECHL and AHL; Martin scored 12 goals last season in the AHL (his first professional season). On the other hand, Pittsburgh's Godard has never scored more than seven goals in a season (NHL, AHL, or juniors) in 14 years of playing hockey. When Cox was bombarded by replies from Isles fans he responded with:

"Love these Islander fans - didn't know there were that many! - trying to promote skill level of their various thugs."

Classy to say the least. The funny thing is his twitter account is @DamoSpin. Spin couldn't be more accurate to describe his work. At the same time he completely backs the harsh comments from Penguins owner, and former NHL superstar, Mario Lemieux. Seems pretty clear to anyone who follows the NHL (except this guy) that Mario's comments are the definition of hypocritical. Lemieux said the following Sunday:

"Hockey is a tough, physical game, and it always should be. But what happened Friday night on Long Island wasn't hockey. It was a travesty. It was painful to watch the game I love turn into a sideshow like that."

Alright. I, like almost everyone else, would agree with that. Well done 'Super Mario'.

"The NHL had a chance to send a clear and strong message that those kinds of actions are unacceptable and embarrassing to the sport. It failed."

Okay. Martin could have received another couple of games and it would have been understandable. Ditto for Gillies. Fair enough.

"We, as a league, must do a better job of protecting the integrity of the game and the safety of our players.  We must make it clear that those kinds of actions will not be tolerated and will be met with meaningful disciplinary action. If the events relating to Friday night reflect the state of the league, I need to re-think whether I want to be a part of it."

Whoa, hold on a minute. How can someone come out with such a bold statement while they employ one of the dirtiest players in the entire league? Matt Cooke (currently suspended) is a repeat offender who has the distinction of effectively ending Marc Savard's career.

Facts: Pittsburgh leads the NHL in minor penalties (290), major penalties (63), total penalty minutes (1113), and penalty minutes per game (19.2).

This reeks of an owner complaining about his team getting the short end of the stick, and not an ambassador of the game looking to make things cleaner or safer. No one should be surprised by such comments. This is the same guy that called the NHL a "garage league" in 1992. Meanwhile, the team he played on that season had two guys (Kevin Stevens and Ulf Samuelsson) register over 200 penalty minutes each.

The truth

No doubt that the actions of Martin and Gillies were despicable and warranted suspensions. The code in the NHL allows players to drop the gloves and fight man-to-man, face-to-face. If the Isles went that route, the backlash from this game would have been minimal.

Fact remains that the Penguins continued their physical play throughout the game and refused to back down at any point, regardless of the score or who was already tossed from the game. They continued hard body checks, punishing hits to the upper body, and dirty cross checks all over the ice. Therefore, the circus broke out and lasted the entire third period. It is unfortunate it had to play out the way it did; however, if there was one team in the league that deserved to be physically ambushed, it was the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Are any fans of the Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, or Washington Capitals outraged by the events Friday night?

I didn't think so.