The New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins played in one of the ugliest games of the NHL season February 11th. The problems began when the teams fought towards the end of Pittsburgh’s 3-0 win February 2nd. The goalies decided to fight and Brent Johnson knocked out Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro with one punch. The punch fractured DiPietro’s face and caused him to miss six weeks. When the teams met nine days later, the Islanders were out for revenge.
They began dropping gloves with ridiculous frequency, sparking fights whenever possible. The teams combined for an absurd 342 penalty minutes and the NHL fined the Islanders $100,000 for their poor conduct. Now the organization plans to celebrate the disgraceful evening (which they won 9-3).
Here’s the announcement from the Islanders’ website:
The night of February 11, 2011 was memorable for Isles fans.
Whether you were in the stands at the Coliseum or watching on TV, you were on your feet through all the ruckus cheering for the Islanders to beat the Penguins.
On Friday August 19th, MSG Plus will re-air the game and we want the fans to join us for a viewing party at Champions.
Same awesome deal as usual, raffles, prizes and more.
I understand the 9-3 win was a huge margin. I can see why the Islanders would be proud of the victory. But isn’t it wrong for the organization to promote a game that featured 10 ejections, 15 fighting majors, and 20 misconducts? This was a game where the NHL said the Isles “must bear some responsibility for their failure to control their players.” We all know from watching Slap Shot that fights can energize fans, but it just strikes me as disrespectful for the organization to promote the event. That’s the team promoting defiance from the league. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear the NHL say something.
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