Isles beat Pens with fists, sticks
UNIONDALE, N.Y. — The New York Islanders battered goalie Brent Johnson with their sticks and their fists, and didn’t need any help from Rick DiPietro to do it.
Just nine days after Johnson beat the Islanders in Pittsburgh and flattened DiPietro with a one-punch takedown in a rare goalie fight, the Islanders responded offensively and physically in a 9-3 victory Friday night that will certainly be remembered for the outbursts of violence that pockmarked the final two periods.
The teams combined for 65 penalties that totaled 346 minutes and included 10 ejections. There were 15 fighting majors and 20 misconducts in the game that set records for both teams for most combined penalty minutes and left few players around to finish it.
Things were so heated that a fence between the two dressing rooms was shut during a hallway lockdown. NHL suspensions will likely be a result, too.
“It was a pretty entertaining affair, and we’ll take the two points,” said Islanders forward John Tavares. “I’ve never seen anything like that before. It just wouldn’t stop. But it just shows that we’ll do anything for each other.”
The Islanders were still bitter about the previous meeting, in which they were shut out for the second straight time in Pittsburgh. On top of that, they lost DiPietro for 4 to 6 weeks because of broken bones in his face as the result of Johnson’s devastating left punch. New York also lost forward Blake Comeau to a concussion sustained from a hit by Max Talbot, who was a target of the Islanders’ anger in the rematch.
Talbot was jumped by Matt Martin in the second period to ignite the first brawl. He then fought call-up Micheal Haley in the third period before Haley skated down the ice to get in his licks on Johnson, too.
Haley became an instant favorite among the 12,888 in attendance, who probably never heard of him before his recall from Bridgeport of the AHL on Friday. But they chanted his name every time there was another dustup, long after he was kicked out.
The Islanders and Penguins will meet once more on April 8 on Long Island. If bad blood still remains then it will likely be boiling on Pittsburgh’s side.
“A guy who would challenge a goalie — it’s kind of a cheap move,” Penguins defenseman Kris Letang said of Haley. “So I think we’re going to play our game, but there are going to be consequences.”
Letang spoke in soft tones, but his anger was clear. Letang was felled in the final seconds of the first period by a slash on his leg from Tavares. It took some time for him to regain feeling and get to his feet, but he was able to finish the game.
When they were actually playing hockey, Tavares, Matt Moulson and rookie Michael Grabner all scored their 20th goal of the season. New York scored four goals in the first period and four more in the second.
The second-period brawl was just the appetizer for a third-period donnybrook — in which Johnson fought again — that caused a delay of about 15 minutes. With multiple ejections, both benches had only a handful of players on them for the final 12-plus minutes.
“The first half of the game was a hockey game, and the second was not,” Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said. “I certainly didn’t anticipate the third period looking like that. At that point we were going out to play and play hard and not put our heads down and feel sorry for ourselves or anything else. I wasn’t expecting quite what we got.”
The second huge brawl broke out at 4:47, and Haley had two fights in the melee — first with Talbot and then with Johnson after the goalie skated out toward the blue line. Haley charged after him, and both players dropped their gloves and started punching. Eric Godard jumped off the Pittsburgh bench to get involved and try to protect the Penguins’ netminder.
The second major uprising was sparked by New York enforcer Trevor Gillies’ elbow that left Eric Tangradi prone on the ice. Tangradi was recalled on Friday from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL. Godard and Haley were both ejected with double game misconducts. Godard could be in line for an automatic 10-game suspension for leaving the bench to join a fight.
Bylsma said Tangradi was examined by the Islanders’ doctors and showed signs of concussion-like symptoms.
Pittsburgh’s Craig Adams and Gillies were also booted from the game. Johnson was forced to remain in the net and heard boos and derisive chants during the final minutes.
Letang, Jordan Staal and Tyler Kennedy scored power-play goals for Pittsburgh.
