The NHL has announced penalties to members of the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins in wake of the brawl between the two teams on Friday night.
NHL Hands Out Suspensions To New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins
Trevor Gillies of the Islanders received a nine game suspension for hitting Penguins' forward Eric Tangradi in the head in the third period of that game, while Matt Martin of the Islanders received a four game suspension for the sneak attack on Pittsburgh's Max Talbot that seemed to instigate the entire game-long melee.
Eric Godard of the Penguins received a mandatory, automatic 10 game suspension for leaving the bench in the to aid his teammate, goaltender Brent Johnson, who engaged in a fight with New York's Micheal Haley. The Islanders organization was fined $100,000.
Here’s what the NHL had to say, via press release:
“The actions by the Islanders’ Gillies and Martin were deliberate attempts to injure by delivering blows to the head of players who were unsuspecting and unable to defend themselves,” said Campbell. “The message should be clear to all players: targeting the head of an opponent by whatever means will be dealt with by suspension.
“With respect to the Godard suspension, there can be no circumstance that allows for a player to leave his bench for the purpose of coming to the aid of a teammate.
“The Islanders also must bear some responsibility for their failure to control their players,” Campbell added.
For more on the suspensions, head over to Lighthouse Hockey, our Islanders blog, and Pensburgh, our Penguins blog.
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