Islanders Celebrate Being an Embarrassment to Hockey

On Feb. 11, I sat in front of a television at Red Robin with my son for the first period of what would become one of the most memorable games in the Penguins’ history.

Only a week earlier, I had sat inside CONSOL Energy Center, gasping in horror as Evgeni Malkin lay motionless on the ice with a torn ACL and MCL. First Sid, now Geno? Ugh. How much worse could the second half of the season end up? I was about to find out.

On the way home, I listened to Mike Lange and Phil Bourque on the radio, numb as the score for the Islanders rose higher and higher. It was almost too much. I turned off the game, prepared to simply continue watching the slaughter from the comfort of home. I entered the house to see my mom and two brothers crowded around the television watching in silence, making it home just in time to see events transpire that can only be described as an premeditated assault on not only the Pens but on the game of hockey itself.

The score didn’t matter. The 9-3 loss meant nothing compared to the literal physical massacre that occurred on the ice in the third period.

After Pens goalie Brent Johnson’s one-punch knockout on Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro a week earlier that left DiPietro with a broken jaw, the Islanders (being a total joke of an organization when it comes to talent and ability to lock up wins) had their revenge, not only on the scoreboard but in every other aspect of the game.

Players served 346 penalty minutes and 23 days worth of suspensions, mostly for fighting. This is among other major and minor infractions that almost left Pens Head Coach Dan Bylsma in the position of being suspended for not stopping now-former Pens enforcer Eric Godard from leaving the bench to come to the aid of Johnson, who was being confronted by Islander Mike Haley. First, Islander Matt Martin attacked unsuspecting former Penguin Max Talbot from behind, Todd Bertuzzi-style. The incident involving Trevor Gillies charging at Eric Tangradi and beating him into the ice, followed by taunting him when he should have been in the locker room brought this game to a tragic level.

Pens co-owner Mario Lemieux responded appropriately to a game that ended with just a handful of players between both benches. In the wake of Sidney Crosby’s season-ending concussion and the apparent end of Bruin Marc Savard’s career due to the same head injury, Lemieux stated, “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.”

The brawl on Long Island came just two days after a Bruins-Canadiens game met a similar (though not as severe) fate.

Pens fans were livid with the outcome of this game. I have watched the video footage of the last period over and over again, completely beside myself and speechless each time. It never gets easier to watch.

Fighting is expected in hockey. Fans love it. If Deryk Engelland never threw a punch again, Pens fans would experience the same disappointment as Maple Leafs fans if Colton Orr hung up his gloves.

However, the difference between Engelland and Orr fighting and what transpired on Long Island is the mutual consent to fight. What the players did and what their managers and coaches deliberately failed to put an end to was assault. Gillies should have had charges filed against him for his attack on Tangradi. Tangradi walked away from that game luckier than the likes of Steve Moore, whose career was ended by a viscous attack by Bertuzzi in 2004.

In fact, the Pens and Islanders’ all-out war parallels the Moore-Bertuzzi in incident in many respects. It all began with an incident from a previous game that left one player out of the lineup with an injury and ended with revenge that had criminal implications.

The Pens put the game behind them and pushed forward in the season, making it to the playoffs. However, the Islanders organization has not put the incident in the past. Rather, the Islanders have rallied fans for a viewing party of the Feb. 11 game.

Puck Daddy defends the actions of the Islanders because this is a way to bring the fans together. It would be one thing if the Islanders fans themselves organized this vile event; however, this is being sponsored by the Islanders organization. That is reprehensible and shows a complete lack of respect to the league, the game and the Penguins.

But what else would you expect from an organization that extended a contract to Gillies after his actions on Feb. 11, followed by his subsequent suspension for similar acts after his return 10 games later?

Enjoy another century or two in your decaying arena, Islanders. You get everything you deserve.

Let’s Go Pens.