FanHouse Jarkko Ruutu

You might have heard that a recent Sports Illustrated poll of 324 NHL players resulted in Chris Pronger and Steve Ott being named the dirtiest players in the game, with Jarkko Ruutu falling just a hair behind.

Pronger brushed off the "honor," saying "That's their prerogative. There's always a lot of whining out on the ice." Pronger might be able to dismiss his overly-rugged play, but a picture is worth a thousand words. And videos? Well, the proof is in the pudding. After the jump, videos of Pronger doing the dirty work.

Jarkko Ruutu is an agitator who always seems to find his way into the news. He's no Sean Avery, but close. In January he was suspended two games for biting Buffalo's Andrew Peters during a scrum and in November it was two for an elbow to the head. So, after Ruutu laid a questionable hit on Tampa Bay's Ryan Craig Sunday, Lightning coach Rick Tocchet called him out.

What ensued was a really entertaining war of words that is giving two cities long out of the playoff picture something to talk about.

The Dallas Stars reportedly placed Sean Avery on re-entry waivers Monday morning, giving the 29 other teams in the NHL an opportunity to pick him up for half price (Dallas will be responsible for half of Avery's contract). It's long been assumed that the New York Rangers will be Avery's eventual landing spot, allowing him to raise his particular brand of hell in the Atlantic Division once again.

It's worth pointing out that after Avery was given his ridiculous suspension for cracking a sex joke, John Tortorella, the current Rangers head coach, had some harsh words for the NHL's premier agitator.

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.

I 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.

In 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?

Costly win of sorts for the Ducks on Friday, as they lost Teemu Selanne to a leg injury in the first period when it appeared his own skate cut his left leg. He was helped off the ice and didn't return to the game. If he's out for any extended period of time it would obviously be a tremendous blow to Anaheim's offense, as the 38-year old forward leads the team in goals (14) and is third on the team in points (27).

As for the game itself, Anaheim took it, 3-2, in a shootout, thanks to some stellar goaltending from Jonas Hiller, who stopped 51 shots in regulation and overtime, and all three shots he faced in the shootout. The 51 saves actually matched a franchise record, so, way to go Jonas.

The Ducks special teams provided the offense, as Rob Neidermeyer picked up a shorthanded goal with 20 seconds to play in the first period, while Corey Perry notched a power play goal midway through the second period, giving the Ducks a 2-0 lead.

That lead would hold up until the third, when Kyle Brodziak put Edmonton on the board at the 6:32 mark, while Erik Cole tied the game seven minutes later with a power play goal.

Perry scored the only goal in the shootout, giving Anaheim the win.

After advancing to the Stanley Cup finals two years ago, the Ottawa Senators opened last season on a 16-4-0 run, looking like the best team in the NHL. From that point on, however, it was all down hill as they finished the season 27-27-8, barely sneaking into playoffs as the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference, which led to a quick and decisive four game sweep at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Through the first two-and-a-half months of this season, things aren't looking much better for the Senators, as they currently hold the No. 12 spot in the conference with 27 points, six points out of the final playoff spot. Though, to be fair, it's a little early to be looking at playoff spots. Maybe.

Still, they're the lowest scoring team in the NHL (only 67 goals) and are coming off an embarrassing loss, at home, against the Atlanta Thrashers on Tuesday. The Thrashers, by the way, entered play on Tuesday with the worst record in the league. As you might expect, this isn't exactly sitting well with the front office.

According to the Ottawa Citizen, Bryan Murray vowed to shake up the roster on Wednesday, while head coach Craig Hartsburg decided to shake up the lines, splitting up the trio of Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson.

The NHL today announced its decision in the ongoing Sean Avery madness, and the result is a six-game suspension, retroactive to Tuesday's game where this saga began. Avery is eligible to return to the Stars lineup on December 16 against Phoenix, though, it remains to be seen whether Dallas will welcome him back at that point.

Here's what commissioner Gary Bettman had to say on the suspension, via NHL.com:

"Mr. Avery has expressed remorse for his recent comments and has sought a professional anger management evaluation," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. "I will require that he follow through with that process as a condition of his returning to the ice and that he complies with any and all recommendations."

Bettman also said that Avery has been warned "repeatedly about his conduct and comments which have too often been at odds with the manner in which his more than 700 fellow players conduct themselves."

No argument here. Though, in my opinion, the league suspending him for six games is a little much, considering that's triple the suspension Jarkko Ruutu received for trying to insert his elbow into Maxim Lapierre's nostril, for example (and there are more examples).

So, if you're in the NHL, I suppose it's better to potentially end a player's career, as opposed to not having a filter between your brain and your mouth.