Penguins and Islanders Punished for Game Fighting

When the National Hockey League doles out the disciplinary actions, I am sure they hope that they are doing the right thing and making the right decisions. Now that "shots to the head" is seen as a hot-button issue, the recent debacle of a game between the New York Islanders and the Pittsburgh Penguins have pushed the tolerance for such violent behaviors to it's limits.

Now the NHL's "hockey code" is once again under the scrutiny microscope as it attempts to move on from the thuggish stereotype. No matter how many times it's sliced up, the solution to the problem is never accepted by 100% of the fans or expert pundits. The punishment for the behavior on the ice between the Penguins and the frustrated Islanders will be debated for weeks, I am sure. It's often seen as arbitrary with the amount of lengthy suspensions and weather or not the suspensions actually serve as a deterrent.

In what was surely an attempt to avenge the poor showing against the Penguins back on February 2nd, the New York Islanders were geared up to fight from the opening face-off. After the game, New York was served with lengthy suspension as well as a walet-warping fine.

The NHL suspended New York Islanders forwards Trevor Gillies for nine games and Matt Martin for four while slapping the club with a US$100,000 fine late Saturday night for their actions in a fight-filled win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

What was balanced out in this scenario, the Pittsburgh Penguins also were wrist slapped by suspending enforcer Eric Goddard 10 games for leaving the bench during a fight to join in. There is no real controversy here as the punishment doled out by the discipline arm of the NHL seems they were trying to be fair and consistent with enforcing the rules as they understand them.

[Via: Rogers Sportsnet]