November 12, 2010, Atlantic Division column on Philadelphia Flyers Dan Carcillo for HockeyPrimeTime.com

Rangers gripe about Carcillo's hit – and have a point

Atlantic

Written by Denis Gorman

Friday, November 12, 2010 12:00

Something is wrong when Daniel Carcillo can deliver a hit like the one that targeted the head of Ruslan Fedotenko and receive no penalty. The league's inaction sends a message as loud as its action. The sideshow began in earnest a few minutes before 7 p.m. on November 4. The Philadelphia Flyers' Daniel Carcillo and the New York Rangers' Sean Avery were standing at their respective benches, talking. Paid to be pests, Carcillo and Avery didn't require lip-readers to disseminate the gist of their conversation. After a few moments, Rangers enforcer Derek Boogaard skated in between the two, only to be cross-checked in the back by Carcillo. AROUND THE ATLANTIC Carcillo then said something to Boogaard before skating away. After that, Carcillo did exactly three things in the Flyers' 4-1 win over the visiting Rangers. He delivered a hit on Brandon Prust 66 seconds into the third period; spent the next five minutes in the penalty box; and provided plenty of instructional-video fodder when he crashed elbow-first into the unprotected head of Ruslan Fedotenko, who was stretching out for a puck in the offensive zone. For a league whose governors, general managers and top administrators have reconstructed the rule book to eliminate head shots with an intent to injure, it defies explanation that no penalty was called on Carcillo. The Rangers were furious. Boogaard challenged Philadelphia’s agitator to fight following the hit but Carcillo passed; Carcillo did fight Prust later in the final period. John Tortorella wondered aloud why the league would bother attempting to eliminate headshots if blatant attacks would go unpenalized. “Sure [I have a problem with it]; why wouldn't I? This [head shots] is what they're talking about, they send tapes to us, [but] why send them?” Tororella told the New York Post. "It's a waste.” Fedotenko told MSG Network’s John Giannone that an unspecified referee (according to the official box score, the referees assigned to the match were Marc Joannette and Justin St. Pierre) said that he shouldn’t duck his head to try to draw a call. HPT.com has twice addressed the issue of concussions and headshots in the Atlantic Division already this season. We also examined the issue last season following the Mike Richards-David Booth and Matt Cooke-Marc Savard incidents. Does the league not have an accountable adult within its 30 franchises or league office to take the lead on this issue? As noted, Carcillo was not penalized on the ice for his hit. The next day, he and GM Paul Holmgren told The Philadelphia Inquirer that neither had heard from Colin Campbell, and that the matter was in the Flyers’ rear-view mirror. Fedotenko is not a star. He has two goals and five assists this season. Is the message supposed to be that players of his ilk are less deserving of protection from referees and the league because they don't carry a high profile? Must a player die on the ice before real and lasting legislation is passed? Carcillo is not, as the estimable Reg Dunlop once uttered about Ogie Oglethorpe, “a criminal element.” Rather, sadly, he appears to be a dropout from a professional wrestling school; someone who is content to comport himself with a clown act instead of making an honest effort to be a professional hockey player. It's a shame because when he is focused on actually playing hockey, he is talented. Dunlop never knew Carcillo. Slap Shot reached the theaters in 1977 and Carcillo was born in 1985. But it can be argued that Carcillo should pay attention to Dunlop when the latter told the Charlestown Chiefs they had hurt the sport with their antics prior to the Federal League championship game against the Syracuse Bulldogs, then begin some self-introspection. Unless, of course, he’s content to be a sideshow clown. The league is leaving plenty of room for that act. Notes The Hockey News’ Rory Boylen blogged praise of the Rangers drafts post-lockout, noting that there are 10 homegrown players in the lineup, including six who were drafted between 2005-08. … The Flyers announced that the organization had replaced AHL coach Greg Gilbert with John Paddock, and that it had reached agreement with center Claude Giroux on a three-year, $11.25 million extension…The New York Post reported Sunday that New York Islanders coach Scott Gordon’s job security might be tenuous. The Islanders had lost seven in a row as of this writing and Gordon is in the third year of a three-year deal. … G Martin Brodeur has missed two games since leaving a 5-3 win in Chicago Nov. 3 with an arm injury. … The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette examined Sidney Crosby’s success in the faceoff circle Monday. Photos by Getty Imag

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