Eye on Hockey

By: Adam Gretz

There's always a winner and a loser in the NHL, and this is a new nightly look at some of the winners and losers in the biggest games and biggest situations across the league.

Winners

Tomas Vincour and the Dallas Stars: Dallas went into Thursday's game against San Jose holding a three-point lead in the Pacific Division over the suddenly slumping -- and fading -- Sharks. The one thing the Sharks had going for them was the fact that they had games in hand, as wel as three remaining meetings with the Stars. All of that only matters, of course, if the Sharks find a way to get into the win column again, and they fell short of that once again as the Stars found a way to scratch and claw out another win, beating San Jose in a shootout, 4-3.

It was probably the game of the night in terms of entertainment, and after San Jose took the lead, 3-2, with less than four minutes to play in regulation, Tomas Vincour scored the game-tying goal for the Stars on a goal that cleared the goal line behind Antti Niemi by, oh, let's say about an inch, sending the game to overtime.

The Stars had to kill off a 4-on-3 power play in the extra period, and ended up picking up the extra point in the standings thanks to Vincour's goal -- the only one in the shootout -- in the fifth-round.

With the win, the Stars now hold a four-point lead in the Division race. The two teams will meet two more times this season and the Sharks still have two games in hand, but again, sooner or later they have to start winning some of these games.

[Related: Stars 4, Sharks 3]

Washington Capitals: Say this for the Capitals -- they certainly make it interesting, and for the second time in a week they needed a late third period goal to force overtime, taking advantage of an Eric Brewer turnover, and then receiving a game-winning goal in the extra period from their captain, Alex Ovechkin, to pick up a 3-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The win, combined with Florida's embarrassing loss to Philadelphia, moves the Capitals back to within two points of the top spot in the Southeast division.

Unfortunately, the Capitals may have to be without defenseman Mike Green for a game (or more) if the NHL decides to suspended him for his elbow to the head of Lightning forward Brett Connolly in the second period.

[Related: Capitals 3, Lightning 2 -- Video: Green elbows Connolly]

Boston Bruins: If nothing else, Boston's 3-1 win over the Sabres on Thursday night was big because it gave the Bruins consecutive wins for the first time since January 10-12. It also allowed them to maintain their three-point lead over the Ottawa Senators in the surprisingly tight Northeast Division race.

[Related: Bruins 3, Sabres: 1]

Losers

Florida Panthers: Yeah, they're still in first place, but you have to wonder how much longer they can go on like this. With their 5-0 loss to the Flyers, combined with the Capitals win, gives them just a two point lead in the division, and for the season they've now been outscored by 26 goals.

How bad is that? The only teams that have been outscored by more goals this season are the New York Islanders, Tampa Bay Lightning, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets.

That's not the type of company you want to be keeping at this point in the season.

[Related: Flyers 5, Panthers 0]

Another slow start for the Phoenix Coyotes: The Coyotes are making it difficult on themselves. On Thursday night against the Minnesota Wild they found themselves in a 2-0 hole for the fifth consecutive game, and it shouldn't be much of a surprise that for the fifth straight game they ended up in the loss column. Granted, this one came in a shootout, 4-3, giving them a point in the standings, but they can't keep falling behind by two goals early in games.

It's hard enough to win that way in the NHL for any team, especially one that isn't really built to play from behind.

[Related: Wild 3, Coyotes 2]

Anaheim Ducks: Bad night all around for the Ducks and their playoff chances. Not only did they lose to a Blues team that took over sole possession of the top spot in the NHL, a number of the teams they're chasing in the standings (Dallas, Phoenix, San Jose) gained a point. They're now back to being seven points out of the No. 8 seed.

[Related: Blues 3, Ducks 1 -- Blues take over top spot in NHL]

Los Angeles Kings: The Columbus Blue Jackets continued their spoiler role on Thursday with a 3-1 win over a Los Angeles Kings that couldn't afford to drop a game to the worst team in the league, on the same night the Blue Jackets did their part to erase the memories of Jeff Carter's brief stay in central Ohio by replacing his nameplates on fan jerseys with Jack Johnson nameplates.

And speaking of Johnson, and adding insult to injury for the Kings, he managed to get some revenge on the team that trade him (for Carter) by scoring what proved to be the game-winning goal. The Blue Jackets have now won four consecutive games, something they had not done since November. Of 2010.

[Related: Blue Jackets, 3 Kings 1 -- Blue Jackets will fix your Carter jersey]

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By: Adam Gretz

There haven't been many suspensions in the NHL over the past couple of months, but Washington Capitals defenseman Mike Green may have given Brendan Shanahan a reason to fire up another one of his (now rare) disciplinary videos.

Late in the second period of Thursday's game against Tampa Bay, a pretty important game in the Eastern Conference playoff race, Green delivered an elbow to the head of Lightning forward Brett Connolly (as he was being held up by Dmitry Orlov), dropping him to the ice.



There was no penalty called on the play, but Green has been suspended previously in his NHL career, missing three games for elbowing Michael Frolik in the head last season.

After the game Connolly said that it was a hockey play by Green and that he put himself in a bad position. Lightning coach Guy Boucher, however, said that he feels the NHL needs to look at it.

"The league has to look at that. It's right at the head, the head's targeted. For me it's clear.

"The ref didn't see it. But you know, the refs are on the ice, they can't see everything. It happens so fast there's people beside them so I don't blame the refs. To me it could have been a five [minute major] and the head was targeted, it's clear. We just watched it on the video."

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By: Adam Gretz

Midway through the second period of Tuesday's game between Detroit and Philadelphia, Flyers forward Jakub Voracek was on the receiving end of this crushing hit from Niklas Kronwall, one of the biggest hitters in the NHL (his resume is all over the Internet).



It's pretty clear right away that Voracek was in some trouble, and that's Flyers analyst -- and former Flyers player -- Bill Clement asking where the freakin' whistle was as Voracek was on the ice trying to figure out what just happened to him.

There was no penalty called on the play, but it's pretty obvious that the head is the principal point of contact, which means it's definitely going to get a look from the NHL, especially since Voracek appeared to be injured as a result of the hit.

Voracek scored his 12th goal of the season earlier in the game.

Given the issues the Flyers have had this season with concussions (Claude Giroux, Chris Pronger, Brayden Schenn, James van Riemsdyk, Danny Briere and Matt Read have all missed games due to one this year) there has to be some concern in Philadelphia after watching that hit.

For more hockey news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnHockey and @agretz on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

By: Adam Gretz

When defenseman Kris Letang had to leave Wednesday's game in Dallas after being on the receiving end of a big hit from Stars forward Eric Nystrom, the biggest concern for the Penguins had to be whether or not their best blueliner suffered another concussion. He's already missed more than 20 games this season due to one concussion, which came after a hit by Montreal's Max Pacioretty. The Penguins have had their share of concussion-related issues this season including injuries to Sidney Crosby, Tyler Kennedy, Arron Asham and, as already mentioned, Letang.

Following Thursday morning's practice in Denver, where the Penguins will play the Avalanche on Saturday, coach Dan Bylsma revealed that Letang is in fact suffering from concussion symptons and will return to Pittsburgh on Sunday for more observation.

Nystrom received a two-minute for roughing on the play, and there was much debate as to whether or not he would face any supplemental discipline from the NHL. Brendan Shanahan, vice president of player safety, announced that Nystrom will not face any additional discipline.

Wrote Shanahan on his official Twitter feed, "Our view is that Letang lunges forward just prior to contact and although it appears that the chin is grazed by the side of Nystrom's arm, the right chest and shoulder of Letang remain the PPOC (principal point of contact)."

NBC's Mike Milbury and Jeremy Roenick were among the people debating (screaming at each is more like it) whether or not Nystrom should face discipline, and it's probably a shock to anybody that is familair with his opinions on these matters but Milbury was actually on the side of supplemental discipline. Roenick, however, wasn't hearing it as the video below (via wyshynski) shows:



It's a tough play to judge, and it's impossible to figure out what Nystrom's intent was, but it does seem a bit interesting that after facing mounting criticism earlier in the season for the number of suspensions he had been handing out during his first months on the job, the amount of supplemental discipline coming out of the NHL offices has slowed down considerably. You could argue that players cleaned up their act, but there have been plenty of examples of plays that drew punishment earlier in the season but have been overlooked in recent weeks and months.

Two such examples: Ottawa's Kyle Turris and his hit on Boston's Joe Corvo last week, and David Clarkson's charging incident on Monday night.

Either way, the potential loss of Letang for any length of time is a big one for the Penguins. With him they are a serious contender for the Stanley Cup. Without him ... they're probably not.

Previously at Eye On Hockey

Video: Letang injured after hit by Nystrom

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By: Adam Gretz

Ottawa Senators forward Kyle Turris is not an overly physical player. In 36 games this season he's been credited with just 16 hits (and yes, I'm aware of how flawed and biased the "hit" statistic can be), which is why it's kind of surprising to see him involved in a questionable hit to the head that may receive some extra attention from the NHL.

Late in the third period of the Senators 5-3 loss to the Bruins, Turris caught Boston defenseman Joe Corvo with what appeared to be an elbow to the head, resulting in a two-minute minor for boarding and a pretty incredible rant from Bruins announcer Jack Edwards.

(Also featured: Chris Neil's big hit on Johnny Boychuk earlier in the period.)



The NHL looks at everything, so this hit is definitely going to be reviewed, it's just a matter of whether or not Brendan Shanahan and Co. feel it's worthy of additional punishment.

These two teams meet again Tuesday night in Boston.

For more hockey news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnHockey and @agretz on Twitter.

By: Adam Gretz

The NHL has decided Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand will not be suspended for a clipping incident that took place during Wednesday's game in Montreal.

This decision is probably a surprise to some given that Marchand was suspended five games for clipping Vancouver's Sami Salo earlier this season (to be exact, it was just last month). Same player, same type of play. Seems reasonable to expect some sort of supplemental discipline. But that's not going to be the case.

The NHL's Vice President of Player Safety, Brendan Shanahan, briefly addressed the play on Twitter Thursday afternoon and said, "Like all penalties on the ice, not all 'clips' rise to the level of supplemental discipline. This check by Marchand was delivered to the upper thigh/hip and not the knee area. We don't like it, but not SD."

"Not SD," of course, refers to no supplemental discipline.

Here is the play one more time in case you missed it the first time around:



It's fair to point out that this clip and the earlier play that did result in a suspension may not be exactly the same. But if there is going to be a criticism of the decision (and there is always a criticism of the league's decisions when it comes to disciplinary matters) it's that Shanahan admitted that the league didn't like it -- it, of course, being the hit. Coming from a player that was suspended for a similar play just one month ago.

If nothing else, that's going to bring up even more questions about consistency and NHL discipline. Seems like we've been down that road before.

Previously at Eye On Hockey

Marchand called for clipping
Marchand suspended 5 games for clipping
Marchand excused from Cup DVD filming  for drunkenness
More NHL Discipline news

For more hockey news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnHockey and @agretz on Twitter.

By: Adam Gretz

Just a little over a week after Zac Rinaldo received a pair of fines for a trip and a late hit against the New Jersey Devils, the Flyers forward will be answering questions from the NHL once again on Monday following a charging penalty against the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday night.

The NHL has a 1 PM disciplinary hearing with Rinaldo scheduled for Monday afternoon for this hit on Jonathan Ericsson late in the first period of Detroit's 4-2 win in the game that extended their home winning streak to a record-tying 20 consecutive games.



Rinaldo received a two-minute minor for charging on the play.

Even though a hearing is scheduled that doesn't mean a suspension is guaranteed, as it could also result in a fine or warning, or perhaps even nothing at all.

That said, the fact that Rinaldo was fined twice just last week probably isn't going to help him going in.

Previously at Eye On Hockey

Rinaldo fined for trip, late hit
More NHL discipline news

For more hockey news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnHockey and @agretz on Twitter.

By: Adam Gretz

The New York Rangers were upset about a hit that Dominic Moore put on Ruslan Fedotenko Thursday night, and there was some discussion as to whether or not it would result in any supplemental discipline from the league.

The NHL announced on Friday evening that it is going to hand out some additional punishment, fining the Lightning forward $2,500 for his hit that occurred early in the third period of the Rangers 4-3 overtime win. It's a decision that is probably going to fire up some debate and result in plenty of disagreement, not only because it came away from the play (Fedotenko didn't have the puck) but because it also appeared to be a clear hit to the head.

In case you missed it earlier, here is the play once again:



Moore was penalized on the play, receiving a two-minute minor for roughing while Fedotenko was pretty clearly shaken up as a result of the hit.

Previously at Eye On Hockey

Rangers upset with Moore Hit
More NHL Discipline News

For more hockey news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnHockey and @agretz on Twitter.