FanHouse RandyJones

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.

Flames 5, Flyers 1: The Calgary Flames were the big winners during the NHL's trade deadline, picking up Olli Jokinen from the Phoenix Coyotes and Jordan Leopold from the Colorado Avalanche. It didn't take the two newcomers long to make an impact for the Flames, as they each scored in the first period of Calgary's 5-1 win in Philadelphia.

Jokinen scored a pair of goals in the first period, while Leopold added his seventh of the season to help the Flames race out to a 4-0 lead.

The man you see slumped to the ice in the above shot is Boston Bruins defenseman Andrew Alberts, just moments after Philadelphia Flyers winger Scott Hartnell wedged Alberts' head between himself and the boards last night in Philadelphia.

And what punishment did the NHL mete out to Hartnell in exchange? How about two games? The suspension marked the fourth time this season that members of the Flyers have been subject to supplemental discipline.

Hard to believe, isn't it?

If anyone out there is looking for a boxing match to watch tonight, you might want to check out the Bruins/Flyers game. This is the first meeting between the two teams since Philly's Randy Jones took out Boston's Patrice Bergeron with a check from behind into the boards. Jones received only a two game suspension, while Bergeron has been out with a severe concussion and broken nose since the incident on October 27th.

Since we're talking about hockey, that means we're talking about players with long memories and grudges. You can be sure that the Bruins haven't forgotten about what happened on the ice almost a month ago today. That being said, there's no telling how this is going to play out. Here are a few possible scenarios:

• Nothing happens. The refs are instructed by the Powers That Be to make sure the teams barely lay a hand on each other. Fans are disappointed that no blood is spilled, but at the end of the day it prevents injuries, another media frenzy bashing the NHL and probably another suspension of a Philadelphia Flyer.
• Chaos ensues. The Bruins bring grenade launchers, M-16s and tanks with them to Philly because, well, who wouldn't? Five-on-five brawls with a couple nice goalie fights sprinkled in add to the on-ice chaos as the game turns into an imitation of the WWE's Royal Rumble. The fighting finally cools down in the second period, but not before half of each team has been ejected.
  
• It turns into a Hollywood movie. Aliens land at Citizens Bank Park, and unleash their own version of martial law upon the city (no, not that Martial Law). In a horrible sequel to his War of the Worlds movie, Tom Cruise attempts to save Philadelphia. In typical Hollywood fashion, the Flyers and Bruins make peace and learn to work together in an effort to save man(and woman)kind. The movie ends with Jones saving Bergeron from the death grip of an alien, while Professor Frink from the Simpsons destroys the Aliens with a giant alien seeking laser, you know with the killing and the annihilation and the oy not my glaven!

Randy Jones of the Flyers said he called Patrice Bergeron a few days after ramming the Boston forward head-first into the glass on Oct. 27 -- a hit from behind that earned Jones a controversial two-game suspension and Bergeron a potentially season-ending case of post-concussion syndrome. Jones left a conscience-stricken message on Bergeron's cell phone; he never heard back.

The expectation has been that Bergeron's response would be delivered by his teammates this evening at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, during the first meeting between Boston and the Flyers since the incident. Jones told reporters that he "knew the time would come," that he isn't worried about retribution and that he's ready to let this all slip into the NHL's storied history of "When Good Guys Go Goon":

"They can look at it their way and I respect that and understand that," Jones said. "I'm not going to sit here and keep dwelling on the situation. It was a month ago and I'm getting over it and I'm back playing worrying about my team and helping our team win."

But will the Bruins let him off without a slap on the wrist, the chin and the back of the head?

Hockey Nerd Tuesday is a weekly feature on NHL FanHouse that chronicles the stat-heads, gear geeks and fanboys (and girls) who spend an uncomfortable amount of time putting the "fan" in fanatic. Have a hockey nerd you'd like to see featured? E-mail Greg Wyshynski with the details.

Gareth is a 25-year-old from Canada who posts under the name "nights10102" on YouTube. After watching a string of violent incidents involving Philadelphia Flyers players this season -- Steve Downie, Jesse Boulerice and now Randy Jones's hit on Patrice Bergeron -- he's seen enough and wants the NHL to fine the coach, fine the general manager and fine the team "over a million dollars" for this thuggery. Here's a quote from the emotional NSFW video below; in an effort to maintain the family-friendly atmosphere of FanHouse, I have replaced his expletives with the less offensive "Niittymaki":

"Basically, what I want to know is why the (Niittymaki) the NHL hasn't fined the Philadelphia Flyers a whole (Niittymaki)-load of money. They've put a team on the ice that has no respect for the rules, has no respect for their fellow players, and has no respect for the fans or the NHL or anything at all. They're basically just a bunch of criminals."

As expected, Flyers fans didn't take too kindly to this constructive criticism, peppering the comments section of the YouTube page with rebuttals like "You are a waste of life. Go comb your hair with a shotgun," and the more colorful "(Niittymaki) a (Niittymaki) panty waste. You are a pethetic little worm. Get a life you (Niittymaki) (Niittymaki) puke." Gareth posted a rambling and neutered video response recently; that tepid, humbled counter-punch -- and the fact that in his latest video, he looks like Jon Favreau after a sleepless weekend in Vegas -- points to one conclusion: As the title of the video says, "Don't Mess With Philly!"

Previously on Hockey Nerd Tuesday:
The Rules of Engagement for Autograph Hounds
Vinny Lecavalier Should Consider Double-Locking His Doors

There was a lot of great action on the ice last night. Unfortunately, the fact that Patrice Bergeron left the ice on a stretcher seems to have trumped them all. Any time you see a player on the ice like that, you can't be human if you don't get a little queasy in the stomach. Watch the above video, and collect the evidence.

What kind of suspension should Jones get, if any?

Now, as the commentators note, the slow motion replay makes the hit look worse (it always does) than it actually was. At full speed, Randy Jones clearly had a split-second to decide to hit Bergeron or let up.

Even in light of recent events (Jesse Boulerice, Steve Downie, etc), I don't believe Randy Jones will earn a suspension on this hit.

1. Bergeron has to take some responsibility for this hit. Instead of worrying about who is coming after him, like ANY player should be doing when they go to the boards, he's looking at who he might pass the puck to. You have to know to look after yourself in that situation.

2. Bergeron, like many young players seem to do, put himself in a precarious situation by turning his back to the play. Why do players continue to put themselves in harm's way like this?

3. At full speed, it is obvious that Jones had little time to react and let up. Yes, he might have been able to, but all of his hockey training and instincts tell him to hit the guy. Look at the hit, and you can see Jones is trying to make a clean hit, and not push the guy's head into the boards. He's finishing his check, like he's done many times before.

4. Jones is a fairly clean player, and has no prior history of abuse, like Downie and Boulerice did.