Penguins vs. Islanders: When Does "Goonery" Cross the Line?

February 11th, 2011 by Steve Strausbaugh Leave a reply »
There is only one word that comes to mind when reflecting on this game tonight: embarrassing.

All hockey fans know that "goonery" is part of the game, but tonight's game seems to have crossed a line. Some call it "old-time hockey" but modern fans call it something more like a melee.

There was bad blood between the two teams coming in to tonight's game. In their last meeting with the Penguins, the Islanders lost their top goalie, Rick DiPietro, to an injury that he provoked. Late in the game DiPietro stepped to the side of the net and took a cheap shot at the Penguins Matt Cooke. DiPietro ended up squaring off with Penguins goaltender Brent Johnson, and subsequently suffered a broken face, which will sideline him four to six weeks. Max Talbot was also on the targeted list since he had taken a supposed cheap shot at an Islanders player earlier in the season as well.

Fans from both sides knew that tonight would be an interesting game, but what ensued was an embarrassment to the league. The Islanders were strong on the scoresheet early, but decided to start taking liberties at Penguins players.

Matt Martin trailed Talbot up ice foll ...

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