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.
Red Wings 4, Sharks 1: In the fourth -- and final -- regular season installment of Western Conference Finals Preview '09, Detroit picked up a 4-1 win over San Jose on Wednesday night. Henrik Zetterberg scored a pair of goals in the win, including a shorthanded marker early in the second period to give the Wings a commanding 3-0 lead.
Marian Hossa and Ville Leino also scored for Detroit, while Ty Conklin turned aside 34-of-35 shots in net. The loss snaps San Jose's four game winning streak, while the two teams split the season series.
Hurricanes 5, Avalanche 2: Led by Matt Cullen's hat trick, Carolina picked up a dominating 5-2 win over the Avalanche on Sunday to move within one point of the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference. The Hurricanes held a commanding 39-19 edge in the shots department, as the Avalanche spent nearly a third of the game down a man.
Thanks to former Maple Leaf defenseman Bryan McCabe and his game-winner in overtime, the Florida Panthers pulled out a 4-3 win in Toronto on Tuesday night, helping push the team back into the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
The play of the game, however, was Niklas Hagman's marathon effort in the offensive zone, as the Leafs put on a puck possession clinic for nearly a minute. Honestly, I'm exhausted just watching it.
Thursday night was Tim Gleason bobblehead night in Carolina, and after a quick search of eBay, I've found that you too can own this rare collectible for the low, low price of $29.99 (starting bid)! Exciting. And incredibly bizarre. Anyway, after the Maple Leafs jumped out to a 4-0 lead, the Hurricanes roared back to tie the game, thanks in large part to three goals in the first eight minutes of the third period.
Unfortunately, at the 13:44 mark of the period, Gleason, the man of the night, was sent to the box for high-sticking Nik Antropov which ultimately led to Tomas Kaberle scoring the game-winner, helping Toronto to a 6-4 win. Jason Blake netted a hat trick -- and picked up two assists -- for the Leafs, while Ian White and Niklas Hagman also added goals, as Toronto snapped a four-game losing streak.
It's great to see quality NHL action return to Chicago after years of disappointing hockey, and man, what a team the windy city has. With their 4-1 win in Minnesota on Sunday, the Blackhawks picked up their ninth straight victory, improving their record to 20-6-7, good enough for the fifth best record in the league.
Chicago received a four-point performance from Dustin Byfuglien, who scored a pair of goals in the first period and also added a pair of assists later in the game, as the Blackhawks dominated Minnesota. Cristobal Huet faced only 19 shots, turning away 18 of them to pick up his fifth consecutive win in goal. During his personal winning streak, Huet has allowed only four goals, posting a .967 save percentage.
Bizarre game in Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon, as the Capitals fired 48 shots at Flyers goaltender Antero Niittymaki -- including 25 in the first period -- only to get their lunches handed to them on the scoreboard in the form of a 7-1 dismantling at the hands of Philadelphia.
The Capitals went into the third period with a 39-13 edge in the shots department, yet trailed on the scoreboard 3-0. Perhaps their spirit was crushed, or something, because they allowed the Flyers to strike four more times in the final frame.
Scott Hartnell recorded a hat trick for Philadelphia in the win, which was its sixth victory in the past seven games. Jeff Carter added two goals, giving him 24 on the season, while Simon Gagne and Joffrey Lupul also joined in the goal-scoring fun, tormenting the Washington goaltending duo of Brent Johnson and Jose Theodore.
Brooks Laich scored the only goal for Washington, as Niittymaki made 47 saves for the Flyers.
Playing in his first game against his former team, St. Louis goalie Chris Mason was absolutely sensational on Tuesday, stopping 47 shots in regulation and overtime, not to mention two additional shots in a shootout, as a depleted Blues team walked out of Nashville with a 1-0 shootout win.
The story of the night was Mason, who was traded by Nashville on June 20, in exchange for a fourth-round pick. The 32-year old goalie was a brick wall in net, as Nashville held a commanding 47-17 edge in the shots department. His best performance of the evening had to be the overtime period, as he turned aside nine shots as Nashville peppered him with shots on a 4-on-3 man advantage, following a questionable penalty call on Blues defenseman Barret Jackman.
The Blues have now picked up points in four consecutive games, after losing eight of their previous nine.
The team that continues to be the biggest surprise of the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs has to be the Dallas Stars. For the second series in a row, Dallas has faced a higher seed yet still come away with a pair of victories on enemy ice.
The first victim was the defending Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks. Now the team Dallas has tied in knots is the San Jose Sharks, one of the prohibitive favorites to win the Cup going into the 2007-08 regular season. After stealing Game One thanks to an overtime goal from team captain Brendan Morrow, the Stars faced a 2-1 deficit entering the third period -- a deficit that would have been larger if it wasn't for the play of goalie Marty Turco and an incredible bad angle goal from behind the net in the first period from Mike Ribero.
The comeback was sparked early in the third when Brad Richards (who finished the night with four points, alli in the third period) jumped on a Joe Pavelski turnover in the San Jose zone and wired a wrist shot past Nabakov to tie it, 2-2. A few minutes later Sergei Zubov, who had been out with an injury since January 17, made a blind backhanded pass to Mike Modano. He ripped the puck past Nabakov to give Dallas a lead it would never relinquish
Red Wings 4, Sharks 1: In the fourth -- and final -- regular season installment of Western Conference Finals Preview '09, Detroit picked up a 4-1 win over San Jose on Wednesday night. Henrik Zetterberg scored a pair of goals in the win, including a shorthanded marker early in the second period to give the Wings a commanding 3-0 lead. 
Hurricanes 5, Avalanche 2: Led by Matt Cullen's hat trick, Carolina picked up a dominating 5-2 win over the Avalanche on Sunday to move within one point of the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference. The Hurricanes held a commanding 39-19 edge in the shots department, as the Avalanche spent nearly a third of the game down a man. 
Thursday night was Tim Gleason bobblehead night in Carolina, and after a quick search of eBay, I've found that you too can own this rare collectible for the low, low price of $29.99 (starting bid)! Exciting. And incredibly bizarre. Anyway, after the Maple Leafs jumped out to a 4-0 lead, the Hurricanes roared back to tie the game, thanks in large part to three goals in the first eight minutes of the third period. 
It's great to see quality NHL action return to Chicago after years of disappointing hockey, and man, what a team the windy city has. With their 4-1 win in Minnesota on Sunday, the Blackhawks picked up their ninth straight victory, improving their record to 20-6-7, good enough for the fifth best record in the league. 
Bizarre game in Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon, as the Capitals fired 48 shots at Flyers goaltender Antero Niittymaki -- including 25 in the first period -- only to get their lunches handed to them on the scoreboard in the form of a 7-1 dismantling at the hands of Philadelphia.
Playing in his first game against his former team, St. Louis goalie Chris Mason was absolutely sensational on Tuesday, stopping 47 shots in regulation and overtime, not to mention two additional shots in a shootout, as a depleted Blues team walked out of Nashville with a 1-0 shootout win. 
