Good call.  The question after Carcillo suspension was what if it is a higher profile player, would it be the same?  Hate to see ML out, but at least Campbell had the stones to do it to an impact guy.

Posted by Carter Jay from Erie on 04/19/09 at 05:48 PM ET

Mike Camalleri, anyone?

Posted by SYF from a "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" on 04/19/09 at 05:54 PM ET

Antoine Vermette?

Posted by mudshark from Divetown, Colorado on 04/19/09 at 06:09 PM ET

So let me get this straight… according to Colin Campbell players are allowed to:
—Sucker punch an opponent in the face at the drop of the puck while on the wing (Cammalleri)
—Attempt to elbow an opponent in the jaw, missing by less than an inch (Kostopoulos)
—Continually eye-gouge an opponent, drawing blood and requiring sutures (Komisarek)
—Hit a player into the boards while they are celebrating an ENG to seal a playoff game (Lapierre)

However, they are not allowed to do the following or they will be suspended:
—Punch an opponent in the back of the head while at center (Carcillo)
—Defend yourself from a charging agitator after already having been elbowed in the face (Lucic)

At the end of a blow-out over Montreal (how sweet that sounds!), Lucic was elbowed/butt-ended in the face by Mathieu Schneider. Like any legit player (this excludes most of Montreal’s roster), Lucic went back at Schneider and crosschecked him as payback. This drew the attention of resident PITA Lapierre, who came flying towards Lucic from the side while he was engaged with Schneider. Seeing the oncoming pest, Lucic, already in the defensive position, raised his hands and made contact with Lapierre’s head, knocking off his helmet. He was immediately attacked by Komisarek and effectively jumped by THREE Montreal players. On ice, Lucic was given 2 for cross-checking, 5 for fighting (I believe) and 10 misconduct leading to a 5-minute power-play for Montreal. It was only after the game that the call magically transformed into an match penalty for an intent to injure… very curious to say the least.

So Colin Campbell, who just this week laughed off the suggestion of actually deigning to punish Montreal players for blatant attempts to injure, determines that Lucic deserves to be suspended. What is worse is, he is going by Lucic’s intent… not his actual actions!

  While it is unclear whether Lucic’s glove or stick makes contact with Lapierre, what is clear is that he delivered a reckless and forceful blow to the head of his opponent

Apparently Kostopoulos can intend to injure by throwing an elbow but that is acceptable since he didn’t actually connect… only Lucic’s intents are punishable. Needless to say, the acts of Gary Bete-man and his lap-dog Colin Campbell have SERIOUSLY damaged the integrity of the game. Not only has there been minimal consistency in officiating throughout the season now there is no consistency in discipline either and punishment apparently is determined not by your actions but by your star power and team. How else can you explain a Flyer and Bruin getting punished while Flames and Canadiens’ get off scott-free? The only explanation can possibly the star power of players involved (Komisarek, Cammalleri) and the opposition/teams involved. After all, both Boston and Philly have reputations of being rough-and-tumble teams (despite Boston ranking at the bottom of the league in penalties) while Montreal and Pittsburgh (aka Crosby and the Malkinites) are both the media-darlings of the league. That is the only posisble explanation here…

I suppose Bete-man finally got his dream… he has turned the NHL into the NBA!

Posted by Bobby Orrs Bastahd on 04/19/09 at 06:19 PM ET

Suspend them all or don’t suspend anyone. Seriously, discipline in the NHL is a joke.

Posted by Alan from Atlanta on 04/19/09 at 06:49 PM ET

So you’re saying that Boston has no star power?

I guess that you are right i mean all they have is Savard, Kessel, and oh yeah some guy named Zdeno Chara. But who are they right?

Posted by J from PA on 04/19/09 at 07:19 PM ET

J from PA…
I said no such thing.  Impressive reading comprehension.

What I was saying was that Cammalleri and Komisarek got off penalty free for similar actions while lesser-knowns Lucic and Carcillo get suspended.  Where is the logic in that?

Cammalleri punches an unsuspecting opponent in the back of the head… Lucic defends himself from the charging Lapierre after having been elbowed by Schneider.  Which of these two situations would seem to merit a suspension more?  Guess Lucic needs to score 30+ or play for a Canadian team to get away with such actions.

Posted by Bobby Orrs Bastahd on 04/19/09 at 07:44 PM ET

Bobby Orrs Bastahd makes case why this league is joke and always will be a joke. i agree 100% with Bobby Orrs Bastahd. this league is more interested in showing individuals and turning it into “look at me” league.

Lucic was put in defensive position when Lapierre came after him.

the league is run by bettman and his lawyers instead people who know anything about hockey.

I cant name a league that was worst officals than the NHL, Larry Brooks was dead on in today’s NY post why great refs like Frasher arent doing playoff games because he’s been blacklisted by bettman and his thugs.

PC crowd has runned ‘a mock’ in this ‘sport’ in flushing it down the tubes….

Posted by FlyersFan on 04/19/09 at 07:59 PM ET

I totally agree with you though. Carcillo and Lucic are both in that group of players in the league that are seen as agitators, and that is probably the only reason there were suspensions given. Just like earlier in the season when Matt Cooke got suspended for basically a clean hit. I didn’t really see why Lucic cross checked him as i only saw the hit on replays. I did see the Cammalleri cheap shot though and it wasn’t called for at all. I personally thought he should have been given at least a game

Posted by J from PA on 04/19/09 at 08:01 PM ET

will kessler get suspended for popping a ref with a stick?

the main issue with the nhl is that they arent allow players decide the game anymore. the refs want to force their agenda into the game so they can impress bettman so they work more games. they dont call nothing remotely in the rule book anymore. they make up crap as they go around. here is a nice list:

Break an opponents stick by stick checking it - slashing
Accidentally shooting the puck out of play - delay of game
goalie playing the puck out of designated zone - delay of game
playing defense and having your stick horizontal and touching the player - hooking
sticking up for a teamate by holding a cheapsotter accountable for his actions - instigator/misconduct

having an opposing player step on your stick - tripping
standing close to someone who falls down - tripping
tapping someone’s glove - hooking
hitting someone too hard - roughing
hitting someone who purposely turns to face the boards before you hit them - boarding
taking a hand off your stick - holding
being pushed into the opposing goalie - goalie interference
questioning a ref on any of this - game misconduct

talking to your teammate about the terrible call the ref just made - unsportsmanlike conduct

seriously give a pentaly for breaking another players stick is a pentaly? the stick is already broken because it a piece of crap composite stick..

CBC coverage should be ashmed of themselves today by the way they conducted themselves today during the pens-flyers game. Atleast Milbury ripped the refs

Remember what milbury said ‘Even if you blow in their ears its an pentaly’......

Posted by FlyersFan on 04/19/09 at 08:14 PM ET

Yea as a Pens fan watchin the game today, the refs made the whole game however they wanted it. They even called that very soft penalty on Richards for slashing where he barely touched the Pens player and they called some soft stuff on the Pens too.

They just didn’t look good except for Malkin, who in my opinion was just about the only Penguin player alive, and the Flyers took it to them really hard.

Posted by J from PA on 04/19/09 at 08:22 PM ET

Yeah, I probably should have looked at those other games before I made my initial post.

I’ll admit I made a stupid statement.  If I was from Philadelphia or Washington however, I’d be blaming it on the referees.

Posted by Carter Jay from Erie on 04/19/09 at 08:53 PM ET