FanHouse

Jarkko Ruutu Suspended 2 Games for Trying to Eat Andrew Peters' Hand

Adam Gretz — 2009-01-07T16:50:00+00:00

by Adam Gretz

During Tuesday night's game between the Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres, we showed you some video of Jarkko Ruutu taking a bite out of Andrew Peters during a first period altercation. In what can only be described as confusing, maybe even a little ridiculous, Peters received the only penalty on the play, picking up a two-minute minor for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Today, the NHL announced that Ruutu will be suspended two games for his actions. Following the game, Ruutu denied the incident even took place. Peters' response?

"I don't think if I did something that stupid I'd really be admitting to it either," Peters said. "It goes too far for any player. It doesn't matter who you are, it's not part of hockey."

Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said he wasn't going to overreact to the incident, and even called it "humourous" and that "games need a little spice."

Funny, needing a little spice is probably would Ruutu had to say about Peters' hand.

This is Ruutu's second suspension of the season, as he received a two-game banishment for elbowing Montreal's Maxim Lapierre in the head. Combined, his two suspensions still don't equal the punishment handed out to Sean Avery for making a sex joke. I'm still not sure how that makes any sense.

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Patriots Facing Salary Cap Problems if They Franchise Matt Cassel

Adam Gretz — 2009-01-07T16:40:00+00:00

by Adam GretzThe New England Patriots have been in the news quite a bit the past week, and their quarterback situation for 2009 seems to be the primary reason. First, there was the report from Mike Lombardi that it was, pretty much, a slam dunk that New England would place the franchise tag on free-agent-to-be quarterback Matt Cassel. Then, on Tuesday, Wilson passed along the report from the Dan Patrick show that Tom Brady's knee is still a major league mess, and that we could see a two-headed monster of Tom Terrific and Cassel next season for New England.

So, naturally, Tom Curran of NBC Sports passes along today's news that the Patriots have not yet made up their minds with Cassel, possibly because franchising him could destroy their salary cap in 2009.

From Curran:

A source who'll be directly involved in the call on the Patriots ascendant quarterback said in an email that the report was "speculation," adding "needless to say, no decision has been made."

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Weekly Rebounds: Brian Burke Makes First Trade in Toronto, Acquires Old Friend

Adam Gretz — 2009-01-07T15:30:00+00:00

by Adam GretzEvery week there are minor moves and stories around the National Hockey League that tend to fall through the cracks. Consider this our weekly roundup of those stories from the previous week, all wrapped up in one neat little package.

Brian Burke's first few weeks as general manager in Toronto have been rather uneventful, and I, for one, have been patiently waiting to see what Burke is going to do to re-shape the Maple Leafs roster. On Wednesday, he made his first move by acquiring Brad May from the Ducks -- his former employer -- for a conditional sixth-round pick in 2010.

Not exactly what I had in mind, but, May brings some grit and tenacity to a Leafs lineup that has been lacking, well, grit and tenacity. May had been losing ice-time in Anahiem and will be a free agent after the season, so from his point of view it's probably a good move, seeing as how he's likely to get quite a boost in playing time.

Still, it's a bit odd to see the Leafs give up a pick -- even if it's a conditional pick -- for a free-agent-to-be when they're an unlikely bet to make the playoffs. Unless Burke is simply tired of seeing this particular team get pushed around (and speared) without anyone doing anything about it.

Anyway, it probably shouldn't be a surprise that Burke acquired the 37-year old May at some point, seeing as how this is the third time he's done so in his career.

He had no goals and five assists in 20 games for the Ducks this year, while averaging six minutes of ice-time per night.

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Newsmakers in the NHL: Penguins Finally End Losing Streak

Adam Gretz — 2009-01-07T01:30:00+00:00

by Adam GretzI don't know what the Thrashers give-a-crap level was at, but the Penguins certainly kicked their give-a-crap level up a few notches as they snapped a five-game losing streak with a 3-1 win over Atlanta. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 28-of-29 shots, while Petr Sykora scored a pair of goals in the win.

Not only did Pittsburgh ends its losing streak, it also ended an 0-for-32 power play drought by going 2-for-6 with the man advantage.

It was a costly win of sorts for the Penguins, as Ruslan Fedotenko and Pascal Dupuis left the game with injuries and did not return. Both players had been playing, perhaps, their best hockey of the season in recent weeks.

Fedotenko appeared to suffer a hand injury when he punched out Colby Armstrong in the first period. It was perhaps the shortest fight of the season, as it consisted of one Fedotenko punch to the jaw, and Armstrong attempting to throw one when both players were on the ice. Fedotenko could be seen shaking his hand as he went to the penalty box, and then headed directly to the locker room and did not return.

Alex Goligoski was again a healthy scratch, as head coach Michel Therrien used the same lineup he used in New York the night before, with much better results. Evgeni Malkin recorded three assists, while Sidney Crosby scored his 16th goal of the season.

Ilya Kovalchuk scored the lone goal for Atlanta late in the third period, ending Fleury's shutout bid.

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NFL Announces Hall of Fame Finalists

Adam Gretz — 2009-01-06T21:30:00+00:00

by Adam Gretz
On Tuesday, the NFL announced the finalists for the 2009 Hall of Fame class, a list that contains the NFL's all-time sack leader, a current owner, a former commissioner, and six first-time finalists.

The voters will select a minimum of four and a maximum of seven new members on January 31. The complete list of finalists after the jump.

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Ottawa's Jarkko Ruutu Takes a Bite Out of Andrew Peters

Adam Gretz — 2009-01-06T20:50:00+00:00

by Adam GretzIn what has been perhaps the most bizarre week of fighting in the history of hockey goonism, Ottawa Senators forward Jarkko Ruutu has seemingly upped the ante. In the first period of Tuesday's game, Ruutu took a bite out of Sabres forward Andrew Peters.

Ruutu was not penalized for his actions -- how does the referee signal two-minutes for biting? Does he pull out a sandwich and eat it? -- while Peters was handed a two-minute minor for unsportsmanlike conduct. It's possible that Ruutu will be facing a suspension from the league -- that is, if the NHL's wheel of discipline remains consistent. Then again, when has that ever happened?

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Brent Sutter to Coach Against His Son, Brandon Sutter, on Tuesday Night

Adam Gretz — 2009-01-06T16:40:00+00:00

by Adam GretzOn Monday night when the Penguins hit the ice against the Rangers, the game featured the brotherly matchup of Jordan Staal vs. Marc Staal, an event that gets mentioned no fewer than 100 times whenever it takes place. The same thing happens when Jordan and/or Marc take on Eric Staal in Carolina, and may God help us when Jared Staal makes the the NHL. The somewhat over the top promotion of the matchup even results in extracurricular activities from the viewers at home.

Anyway, there's another family reunion of sorts on Tuesday night, when the New Jersey Devils take on the Carolina Hurricanes. The Devils, as you may know, are coached by Brent Sutter, while his son, Brandon, happens to play for Carolina. It's the first time the two have ever faced off in a game, and Brent isn't exactly looking forward to the challenge of coaching against his son, even though he played against his five brothers time-and-time again in the NHL. As Colin Stephenson of the Star-Ledger reports, (Brent) Sutter thinks this is a completely different challenge:

"It's an awkward thing,'' Sutter said, turning serious. "It's a unique thing... as a dad, I'm very proud of him, as I am of all my kids. It's different than playing against a brother. It's just different. It's your own son.''

Brandon was the Hurricanes No. 1 pick (11th overall) in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, and has recorded one goal and five assists in 32 games for Carolina this season. He's also managed to come back from a devastating hit by New York's Doug Weight earlier in the season.

Fire & Ice has more on the father vs. son tilt.

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Linesman Thor Nelson Wants Kyle Brodziak to 'Get His [Expletive] Head Up'

Adam Gretz — 2009-01-06T14:15:00+00:00

by Adam GretzBack in December, Ted Starkey passed along the accusation from Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller that an NHL referee told him to perform a seemingly impossible physical act of self-gratification during a game. Miller's crime? Asking a question. Miller wouldn't acknowledge which referee it was, and there's no audio or video to confirm or deny his claim (though, why would he make it up?)

On Monday night, another NHL player was on the receiving end of some zebra-issued profanity. And this time we have the (NSFW) video to prove it.

With the Oilers leading the Islanders 3-2 late in the third period, Edmonton forward Kyle Brodziak skated through the neutral zone and collided with linesman Thor Nelson, much to the chagrin of Nelson.

A suitable response from Brodziak would have been to "get out of the [expletive] way."

(H/T HFBoards for the video and that last line)

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Newsmakers in the NHL: Rangers Back on Top

Adam Gretz — 2009-01-06T00:30:00+00:00

by Adam GretzThe New York Rangers spent one day in second place of the Atlantic Division, as their 4-0 win over Pittsburgh vaulted them back over Philadelphia, reclaiming the top spot in the division. New York's special teams chipped in three goals (two power play, one shorthanded) while Henrik Lundqvist was a wall in net, stopping all 27 shots he faced to pick up his first shutout of the season.

After Pittsburgh's Max Talbot was sent off for a boarding penalty just 31 seconds into the first period, Nigel Dawes scored his seventh goal of the season, giving the Rangers a 1-0 lead just a minute into the game. Paul Mara added another power play goal late in the second period, one-timing a clean faceoff win by Scott Gomez behind Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. Chris Drury would add his 11th goal of the season midway through the third period, while Gomez finished off the scoring with an empty net goal.

The Rangers entered the game in a minor slump, winning only once in their previous five games.

Speaking of slumps, the loss for Pittsburgh is its fifth in a row, and 11th in its past 15. Nothing is going right for the Penguins, including the power play unit which is clicking with all the power of a moped. Head coach Michel Therrien tried to change up the lines for the game, and received the same results.

Miroslav Satan was relegated to fourth-line duty and played a whopping nine-minutes (and only four-minutes through two periods) and finished as a -1 with a penalty. Alex Goligoski, the team's leading scorer among defensemen, was a healthy scratch.

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A Look at the Slumping Penguins Power Play: Can They Decline Penalties?

Adam Gretz — 2009-01-05T22:25:00+00:00

by Adam Gretz
The Penguins lost again on Monday night -- fifth in a row -- and continued their struggles with the power play. Entering play against the Rangers, the Penguins had been mired in an 0-for-24 slump with the man advantage. After an 0-for-8 showing at the Garden, you can extend that slump to 0-for-32. Not exactly an advantage.

Granted, the absence of Sergei Gonchar has been huge for the Penguins, which is no doubt leading to some (all?) of these struggles. Still, it's difficult comprehend how a unit that consists of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Petr Sykora can struggle to put the puck in the net on a semi-regular basis.

In the first period of Monday's game, the Penguins were awarded a four-minute power play after a high-sticking call on Petr Prucha, which was quickly followed by a questionable holding call on Dmitri Kalinin. It was going to be a full two-minute, two-man advantage. And they failed to score. Sure, Henrik Lundqvist was stellar in net, but he wasn't in goal for the 24 previous attempts.

So, what's the problem? Being too predictable comes to mind.

Let's take a look at a typical Penguins two-minute power play over the past month.

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Al Davis and Kevin Gilbride Have 90-Minute Conversation, Raiders Deny Interest

Adam Gretz — 2009-01-05T16:30:00+00:00

by Adam GretzA couple of weeks ago, reports surfaced that Raiders owner Al Davis might be interested in Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride to take over the team's head coaching duties. It had to be shockingly bad news for Raiders fans, seeing as how Gilbride's only head coaching experience was a 6-16 run with the San Diego Chargers during the 1997 and 1998 seasons.

Of course, it was just a report of a name that might interest the Raiders. Well, on Saturday, Davis and Gilbride apparently had a 90-minute phone conversation, which has to have fans in Oakland throwing papers in the air and screaming for the return of John Madden. So, does this lengthy phone conversation mean the Raiders are interested in Gilbride's sevices? If you ask John Herrera, the answer is no, no it does not.

"Mr. Davis has known Kevin for a long time and was more than willing to oblige and have that conversation," Herrera said. "They had an interesting hour-and-a-half conversation Saturday at Gilbride's request. End of story."

I realize Gilbride, like any current assistant, is probably looking for an opportunity to become a head coach -- it's more glamorous than being a coordinator, obviously, and it's certainly better for your bank account -- but is it really a wise career choice for him? Is it better to be the offensive coordinator for a consistent playoff contender, or attempt to take over what has to be considered the worst coaching job in the NFL right now? Frankly, if I were Gilbride I'd stick to the former, at least until Davis hands the keys to the Raiders over to somebody else.

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Blues Forward David Backes and His Cross-Check on Kristian Huselius

Adam Gretz — 2009-01-05T13:05:00+00:00

by Adam GretzOn Sunday we told you about Ducks forward Corey Perry receiving a four-game suspension for introducing his elbow to Claude Giroux's face. Today, let's take a look at Blues forward David Backes and his cross-check on Columbus forward Kristian Huselius.

During Saturday's game in St. Louis, with the score tied 2-2 late in the first period, Backes delivered a crushing cross-check to the head of Huselius.

Backes received a game-misconduct for the hit, his third of the season, which will result in a mandatory one-game suspension to be served during the Blues game in Vancouver on Friday. Is that enough? Huselius suffered a concussion on the hit, and the NHL is, apparently, trying to cut down on hits to the head. Seems like a mandatory one-game suspension is getting off kind of easy, assuming that's all he receives. Earlier this season, in a game in Washington, Backes give this healthy shot to the back of Capitals forward Alexander Semin. Though, I suspect if Backes knew what type of fighter Semin is he probably would have thought better of it. Sorry. Couldn't resist.

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FanHouse Roundtable: Planning the 2010 Winter Classic

Adam Gretz — 2009-01-05T11:00:00+00:00

by Adam Gretz
On Thursday afternoon, the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks hit the ice at Wrigley Field in the Winter Classic. After a sluggish first period that saw Chicago jump out to an early 3-1 lead, the Red Wings roared back and claimed a 6-4 victory, thanks in large part to a pair of goals from Jiri Hudler, and a highlight reel goal by Pavel Datsyuk. You might have heard a thing or two about it, as it was a pretty big deal. NBC even let Bob Costas cover it so, in the words of Empty Netters, he could pretend like he cared about hockey.

Meanwhile, Eric McErlain was everywhere in Chicago, collecting locker room insight from the Red Wings and interviewing crazed fans taking in all of the excitement.

The early returns are in, and it seems that this year's version was an even bigger success than the first Winter Classic in Buffalo a year ago. This was actually the third outdoor game in NHL history, as the Oilers and Canadiens played in the Heritage Classic back in 2003. Oh, and in case you haven't heard, Ty Conklin played in all three games.

So, seeing as how the NHL has actually marketed something correctly for a change, and in the process has created a monster that will need to be fed each and every season -- or so it seems -- now is as good a time as any to start looking ahead to 2010.

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Newsmakers in the NHL: Montreal Beats Florida, Brett McLean Thinks Crosby Is Lying

Adam Gretz — 2009-01-05T01:30:00+00:00

by Adam GretzThe Florida Panthers scored three third period goals, including a game-tying score from Radek Dvorak with 1:38 to play, to force overtime at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Sunday afternoon. Defenseman Andrei Markov, one of four Montreal players voted to start in the All-Star game, scored the lone goal in a shootout helping lead the Canadiens to a 6-5 win.

The Panthers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period thanks to goals from Brett McLean and David Booth, only to have Montreal come out in the second period and take over the game, scoring four goals -- including a pair in the first two minutes of the period -- while outshooting the Panthers by a 19-5 margin.

Florida rebounded in the final frame with goals from Dvorak (two) and Jassen Cullimore, sending the game to overtime. .

As long as we're on the subject of the Panthers, Greg Wyshnyski over at Puck Daddy passes along the report (from George Richards of the Miami Herald) that Brett McLean thinks Sidney Crosby is a liar, and that no challenge was ever issued prior to the drop of the puck in Saturday's game. So, basically, it's all coming down to a bunch of he said, she said. Moving on ...

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The Raiders Dispute Chris Mortensen's Report That Team Is for Sale

Adam Gretz — 2009-01-04T18:00:00+00:00

by Adam GretzIt's been a few weeks since the Oakland Raiders front office put themselves in the news, so I guess they figured it was a good time to bring us all some entertainment on Wild Card weekend, with a little help from ESPN's Chris Mortensen.

On Sunday, Mortensen passed along some inside information that Al Davis, owner of the Raiders, was attempting to sell a portion of the team to billionaire Dean Metropoulos. This did not go over well in Davis' lair, according to Steve Corkran of the Oakland Tribune.

Keep in mind, during Davis' bizarre press conference following the firing of Lane Kiffin, Davis referred to Mortensen as "a professional liar," so I'm guessing if Mortensen reported the sky outside his office as being blue, Davis would probably find a way to dispute the report. Anyway, here's what John Herrera had to say on the matter after speaking with Davis.

"The report from Chris Mortensen which states that the Raiders, Al Davis and Amy Trask are in negotiations with Dean Metropoulous to sell the team is totally unfounded and false," Herrera said. "Once again, for reasons known only to him, Mortensen has fabricated a story which has no basis in fact."

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Ravens 27, Dolphins 9: Chad Pennington's Bad Day Ends Miami's Surprising Season

Adam Gretz — 2009-01-04T16:25:00+00:00

by Adam Gretz
Stay on top of all the postseason action with FanHouse's NFL playoff coverage.

During the regular season, Miami quarterback Chad Pennington threw just seven interceptions, one of the lowest totals in the NFL among starting quarterbacks. On Sunday, during the Dolphins 27-9 Wild Card loss to Baltimore, Pennington was guilty of four interceptions while Miami turned the ball over five times against a swarming Ravens defense. Miami finished the day a -4 in the turnover department, after finishing the season with a league-best +17 margin in terms of turnover differential.

That's not going to get it done.

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Anaheim's Corey Perry Suspended 4 Games for Elbowing Claude Giroux

Adam Gretz — 2009-01-04T14:15:00+00:00

by Adam Gretz

Early in the third period of Friday's game between Anaheim and Philadelphia, Flyers rookie Claude Giroux carried the puck into the offensive zone and passed it off to a teammate trailing the play. As he turned and skated towards the middle of the ice, Giroux, a 2006 first-round pick, was blindsided by Corey Perry's elbow, as shown above.

Perry received a double-minor for high-sticking on the play, and upon further review by the NHL's czar of discipline, Colin Campbell, he's been handed a four-game suspension, costing him $114,000 in salary.

It's worth keeping in mind this four-game suspension is actually two games shorter than the punishment handed out to Sean Avery for making a sex joke. This, of course, proves once again that in Gary Bettman's NHL it's better to potentially end an opponents season -- or career -- than it is to make an off-color joke about an ex-girlfriend.

Perry is currently second on the Ducks in scoring with 34 points.

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Newsmakers in the NHL: Buffalo Snaps Boston's Winning Streak

Adam Gretz — 2009-01-04T02:00:00+00:00

by Adam GretzThanks to a pair of goals from Matt Ellis, the Buffalo Sabres ended Boston's 10-game winning streak with a 4-2 victory at TD Banknorth Garden on Saturday afternoon. The loss not only snaps Boston's 10-game winning streak, it also ended a 14-game home winning streak, while also giving the Bruins their sixth regulation loss of the season.

Ellis opened the scoring for the Sabres just three minutes into regulation, while Thomas Vanek added his 26th goal of the season just two minutes later.

After Phil Kessel cut the deficit in half with his 24th goal of the season, Ellis added his second goal of the game early in the second period to score what proved to be the game-winner. Paul Gaustad added his fourth goal of the year for the Sabres, while Ryan Miller turned aside 29 shots in net.

The win for Buffalo, combined with Pittsburgh's loss to Florida, moved the Sabres into the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

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Comparing the Fighting Styles of Alexander Semin and Sidney Crosby

Adam Gretz — 2009-01-03T22:25:00+00:00

by Adam GretzLost in all of the madness that was Sidney Crosby's latest efforts to a become a fighter, was an epic battle between Washington's Alexander Semin and New York's Marc Staal. Observe the glorious video:

Words fail me.

Honestly, I was waiting for him to start pulling out Staal's hair, who apparently wanted nothing to do with Semin's open-handed slaps to the back of the head. I can't decide if this is the best fight video ever, or the worst fight video ever.

Still, this leaves open the debate as to who the worst fighter in the NHL currently is. On one hand, we've seen Crosby punch a guy in the groin, and then do whatever it was he did to Brett McLean.

On the other hand, we have Semin who seems to have developed a strategy similar to the ones we all used to see in high school. You know, when Jessica tried to fight Nicole for kissing Josh behind the pop machine.

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Aftermath of Sidney Crosby's 'Fight' With Florida's Brett McLean

Adam Gretz — 2009-01-03T20:45:00+00:00

by Adam Gretz
Hopefully by now you've seen the video of Sidney Crosby and his attempt to light a fire under his teammates by mugging Brett McLean during Saturday's game in Pittsburgh. Actually, it looked like he may have been trying to steal McLean's lunch money. Following the game, both sides had an opportunity to sound off on the showing, and the word "embarrassing" was thrown around the Florida locker room.

First, let's start with Crosby and the Penguins. In his locker room interview with the Pittsburgh media, Crosby acknowledged that he asked McLean if he wanted to go -- as was initially pointed out in the comments section of our earlier post -- and Crosby, naturally, claims that he accepted the challenge.

When a reporter pushed for further confirmation that McLean agreed to dance, Crosby repeated his "yes" and offered up the possibility that the Panthers forward didn't take his offer seriously. He also made some reference to "wasting 20 minutes in the box," while also suggesting his efforts weren't worthy of 19 minutes in penalty time. I'm guessing those statements will fly like a led balloon with hockey fans outside of the 412 area code.

Anyway, if Crosby really did challenge McLean, why did it appear that McLean was ambushed right off the draw? Here's what he told George Richards of the Miami-Herald.

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