A grand total of 346.
That’s the record-breaking number of penalty minutes dished out during the Penguins-Islanders game last Friday.
Not to mention the 10 ejections, 15 fighting majors and 20 misconducts, along with thousands of dollars in fines assessed to the Islanders for failing to control their players.
Hockey is one of my favorite sports, and the NHL is a league steeped in tradition and honor.
Friday’s travesty was anything but honorable.
Surprisingly enough, the Islanders do have a defense — earlier in the season their starting goalkeeper got in a fight against the Penguins, broke several bones in his face, and will be out for several more weeks.
And the concept of payback in hockey is an old one, and in fact almost a tradition itself.
But when all four referees are breaking up separate fights, players are coming off the bench to join the fray and clearly injured players are still being pummeled by their opponents, it’s no longer payback — it’s a gang fight.
Every fan wants to see a good fight, but no one wants to have a game delayed by 15 minutes.
The final score was 9-3 Islanders. And I could really care less.
Reach the reporter at egrasser@asu.edu
