Lost in the bar room brawl that was last night's Flyers/Penguins game (that's really the only way to describe
the chaos and cheap shots that went on), was the significance that the game had off the ice. It was the 28th game of the Flyers' season and marked the last game that Philadelphia goons
Jesse Boulerice and
Riley Cote had to serve as part of their suspensions. If you remember,
Cote was suspended three games for taking a shot at Matt Niskanen's head and Boulerice received 25 games for decking Vancouver's Ryan Kesler, which equaled the regular season record for suspension length. With two goons back in the mix, it may only be a matter of time until the next suspension is handed out in Philadelphia.
There's no word from the Flyers on whether or not these two will be back in the lineup anytime soon. Nonetheless, it leads me to wonder if there could be some serious confrontations the next time the Bruins and Penguins face off against Philly. It was an amazing exercise of self control that the Bruins did to not take any action during their first contest against the Flyers following
the Bergeron hit. It will be unthinkable, at least to me, if there is no form of retribution this time around thanks to
the nasty hit handed out by Scott Hartnell in that very game.
As Stephen Colbert would say, Boston and Pittsburgh -- you're on notice!
The teams will have some time to cool off, as the next meeting doesn't take place until January 12th when the Bruins visit Philadelphia. Pittsburgh will travel to Philly on the 24th of January.
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. 
