FanHouse ColinCampbell

By now, you probably know that the New York Rangers were spanked in Game Five of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal playoff series with the Washington Capitals last night, 4-0. You probably even know that Rangers head coach John Tortorella was involved in an altercation with a unidentified fan that involved the coach tossing a water bottle.

So how did it all go down? Truth be told, I'm not really completely sure. It's clear from the TSN video that we linked to earlier this evening that the Rangers coach was going after somebody with a stick, but most of the rest of what we know came from the commentary provided by Gord Miller and Ray Ferraro.

But now, thanks to another video uncovered by Greg Wyshynski at Puck Daddy and some on-the-scene reporting from Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post, we know that Tortorella did indeed toss a water bottle, and that he was provoked by little more than the usual in-game harassment by the local fans. Video and more after the jump.

On Monday night, the Calgary Flames defeated the Chicago Blackhawks for the first time this season, cutting the deficit in their Western Conference Quarterfinal in half. Late in the third period -- with 13 seconds remaining, to be exact -- Chicago's Adam Burish decided to break his stick in half across Rene Bourque's face.

On Thursday, the NHL suspended Flyers forward Daniel Carcillo for his actions in the closing seconds of Pittsburgh's 4-1 win on Wednesday night. It was part of a somewhat embarrassing end to the game, as the Flyers racked up 23 penalty minutes in just 19 seconds.

Carcillo admitted that the official dropping the puck warned him not to try anything.

Toronto goalie Martin Gerber was ejected in the final minute of Tuesday's game with Washington for making contact with an official following a controversial goal. With the Maple Leafs leading, 2-1, there was a scrum in front of Gerber, resulting in Capitals forward Brooks Laich jamming a loose puck in for the game-tying goal.

The Flyers and Rangers split a home-and-home series over the weekend with a pair of physical games between the two divisional rivals. During Sunday's game, Philadelphia defenseman Braydon Coburn was ejected (and issued a five-minute major) for cross-checking Nik Antropov away from the action.

When NHL general managers gathered in Florida this week, one of the major items on their agenda was fighting. The GMs decided to recommend abolishing "staged" fights, as well as greater enforcement of the instigator rule.

Montreal veteran and well-known enforcer Georges Laraque wasn't pleased. He was left to wonder why these recommendations were made without anyone consulting with the players such rule changes would impact. NHL discipline king Colin Campbell apparently doesn't understand Georges' beef.

On Thursday night, New York Islanders defenseman Brendan Witt was handed a five-minute major and a 10-minute game misconduct for elbowing Maple Leafs forward Niklas Hagman.

On Friday, the NHL reacted by suspending Witt for five games. According to NHL.com, the suspension will cost him $74,372.75 in salary. His first game back from the suspension is scheduled to be March 10 ... against Toronto.

At the 2:21 mark of the third period during Thursday's Islanders-Maple Leafs game, Brendan Witt delivered a vicious elbow to the head of Toronto's Niklas Hagman.



It's obvious that Hagman had absolutely no idea where he was following the hit, as he stumbled off the ice in a rather scary manner. Witt received a five-minute major, as well as a 10-minute game misconduct for elbowing.

On Monday afternoon the NHL announced that Los Angeles defenseman Dennis Gauthier will be suspended five games for his brutal elbow to the head on Montreal's Josh Gorges.

Eric McErlain originally guessed that Gauthier, a repeat offender when it comes to borderline hits, would get five games from the NHL. Apparently, Colin Campbell, the league's discipline Czar, agrees with that assessment.

As we continue to celebrate the birthday of Wayne Gretzky, now is as good a time as ever to post one of my favorite YouTube videos. Let's turn back the clock to 1980 when a young, fresh-faced Gretzky made his first trip to the Mellon Arena (then known as the Civic Arena) to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins, who were wearing their nifty powder blue uniforms before they were considered "throwbacks."