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Islanders dominate Penguins 9-3 in fight-filled, chaotic game

Micheal Haley, Craig Adams

New York Islanders’ Micheal Haley, left, and Pittsburgh Penguins’ Craig Adams fight in the first period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, Feb. 11, 2011, in Uniondale, N.Y. Both players drew penalties. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

AP

Perhaps it was “carry-over” from that raucous goalie fight between Brent Johnson and Rick DiPietro. It certainly didn’t help things that the New York Islanders took 6-0 and 8-2 leads over the pugilistic Pittsburgh Penguins. (The score ultimately was 9-3 in favor of the Islanders.) Obviously, Trevor Gillies’ hit on Eric Tangradi also stoked the flames. Then again, maybe the two teams just decided that they wanted to top the carnage of this week’s Montreal Canadiens-Boston Bruins game.

(Click here for at least some footage of the wild fights. Also click here.)

Either way, the Pens-Isles game was a chaotic affair, resulting in a staggering 346 penalty minutes. At some point the Penguins’ bench was so empty that it’s possible that coaches and trainers outnumbered players when Pittsburgh had four players on the ice in the game’s waning moments.

The game was full of fisticuffs, but it could probably be broken down into two major melees. The worst one took place when Islanders enforcer Michael Haley bludgeoned Maxime Talbot and then challenged goalie Johnson, who was saved by Eric Godard, who left Pittsburgh’s bench.

Godard is almost certainly to receive a 10-game suspension and a hefty fine for leaving the bench and being the “third man in,” but the two teams might face some other discipline for what degenerated into an outright-embarrassing bouts of considerable violence.

Pittsburgh Penguins v New York Islanders

of the New York Islanders of the Pittsburgh Penguins on February 11, 2011 at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.

Jim McIsaac

The Islanders obviously had less to lose considering the fact that they’re far outside the playoff race, but they’ll certainly appreciate the added bonus of a lopsided win. What might be lost in the fracas fest is that three young Islanders crossed the 20-goal plateau in this game: John Tavares, Matt Moulson and Michael Grabner hit that mark. Johnson and Marc-Andre Fleury both appeared in the game for Pittsburgh, but Mikko Koskinen was the only man in the Isles’ net (stopping 35 out of 38 shots).

While the Long Island bunch are playing for pride, the Penguins must be worried. They’ve lost three of their last four games, only scoring six goals while allowing 17 in that span.

We’ll keep you updated regarding any suspensions, fines or other discipline that might result from this game. Both team play on Sunday (the Penguins in New York against the Rangers; the Islanders in Buffalo against the Sabres), so the league will likely be forced to make judgments on Saturday.

The two teams only have one more game left on the schedule: at Nassau Coliseum on Friday, April 8th. That will be the second-to-last game of the season for both teams, so it will be interesting to see how the playoff-likely Penguins approach that game. Whichever way Pittsburgh handles the situation, the league will likely have its eyes on that one after tonight’s rambunctious contest.