FanHouse Donald Brashear

The last time Donald Brashear was involved in a Rangers vs. Capitals game, he was suiting up for Washington and facing the wrath of fans in New York for knocking out Blair Betts in a playoff game.

On Thursday night, Brashear was on the other side of the matchup and trying to win some fans in Madison Square Garden (after he was booed during his formal introduction a couple of weeks ago) by throwing down with 6-foot-4, 225-pound Capitals forward Brandon Sugden ... twice.

Video after the jump.

Depending on who you ask, Donald Brashear's introduction to Rangers fans was either a success after a rocky beginning, or simply the beginning of what will be a rocky relationship. At a season ticket holders meet-and-greet on Wednesday night, an event that featured Brashear, Chris Higgins, Chris Drury, Ales Kotalik and Marian Gaborik, the Rangers' new enforcer was greeted with a smattering of boos according to Michael Obernauer of the Daily News, which prompted him to -- jokingly -- challenge anyone in the crowd who was booing him.

The reaction from the fans isn't really surprising given the run-in Brashear, then playing for the Capitals, had with former Rangers forward Blair Betts during the Stanley Cup playoffs in a series that saw Washington overcome a 3-1 deficit.

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"As Of Now, Nobody Is Our Captain"

Those are the words of San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan, via David Pollack of the Mercury News. After another early playoff exit this past season, a first-round loss to the No. 8 seed Anaheim Ducks, McLellan has decided to rattle a few cages in the leadership department and will wait to see who steps forward during training camp before naming a new captain. That, of course, means Patrick Marleau no longer owns the C. The 29-year-old Marleau has spent all 11 years of his career in San Jose, amassing 276 goals, and has been the team's captain since January, 2004.

Ah yes, another July 1 passes and the Rangers make another splash in the free agent market. This year they signed the oft-injured and cranky Marian Gaborik to a five-year deal worth $37.5 million, and tough guy Donald Brashear for two years and $2.8 million. Also, former big July 1 signing, Scott Gomez, was shipped off to Montreal in a seven player deal that brought back forward Chris Higgins, among others.

But will all the superstar swaps and signings pay off for the Rangers? They've made similar moves for the past two years and have a grand total of eight playoff wins and a mid-season coaching change to show for it. So is this summer different, or are the Rangers sticking to the same big money strategy that has failed them before?

There's no question Capitals star Alex Ovechkin has no fear of physical contact. He'll hit anyone, anywhere, anytime. When it comes to star players in this sport, few have the attitude Ovechkin does when it comes to hitting. That attitude, usually seen as an endearing part of Ovechkin's game, may have landed him in trouble Friday night in Pittsburgh.

A first period hit on Penguin defenseman Sergei Gonchar -- and the resulting two-minute minor penalty -- has drawn the ire of the Penguins.

You would probably think that Chris Kunitz would face some sort of punishment from the NHL for what appears to be, in the slow-motion video above, a deliberate cross-check to the face of Simeon Varlamov. But that would be giving the wacky NHL too much credit.

The NHL has decided not to suspend Ducks forward Mike Brown for his first-period hit on Detroit's Jiri Hudler in Game 1, which undoubtedly will upset the Red Wings and will lead to declarations that the league isn't being consistent in its discipline. After all, the argument goes, the league leveled a six-game suspension on Washington's Donald Brashear for a hit on Blair Betts of the Rangers in the first round.

Perhaps the NHL overreacted somewhat in that instance, but in this case, the decision seems warranted. After repeated viewings of Brown's hit on Hudler, I was not convinced it warranted a suspension, particularly a lengthy one.

There has been a lot of talk about hits to the head in the NHL playoffs so far. Washington's Donald Brashear got a controversial six-game suspension for his shot high on Ranger Blair Betts during Game 6 of their series.

Friday night, Anaheim and Detroit met to open their Western Conference semifinal series. During the first period, the intensity got cranked up big-time on a late and high hit by Anaheim's Mike Brown on Red Wing forward Jiri Hudler in Detroit's 3-2 win.

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WASHINGTON – It became custom sometime ago that the hero in a victorious Capitals locker room received a shower of shaving cream from his happy teammates.

The news around the Devils Tuesday should rightfully be about their Game 7 against the Hurricanes, but Sports Business Journal had other plans. They reported Tuesday morning that the team was looking for a business executive to take over revenue-building duties, stripping those duties from do-everything honcho Lou Lamoriello and allowing him the opportunity to focus solely on the hockey operations side.

Apparently, the league has been bitten for the second day in a row by an erroneous report. After ESPN wrongfully reported Monday one-game suspensions for Capitals Donald Brashear and Mike Green only to redact the report shortly thereafter, Devils chairman/managing partner Jeff Vanderbeek called the Lamoriello report "very inaccurate."