Only two games last night, but lots of options for a healthy dose of Studs and Duds....

STUDS

Dustin Penner plays thru pain
Penner told reporters he had injured his back yesterday morning, "eating some delicious pancakes his wife cooked"
No really, that actually happened!
But Penner being the pro that he is played thru the injury and even had a rare point.

No Clemency offered to visiting Canucks
Scott Clemmensen made 25 saves on 26 shots to earn the win. Florida now has 50 points on the season, and has a five point lead in their division.

Kings deliver Capital punishment
I know that was a lame pun.
Kings find some offense....Finally!
Kyle Clifford and Jack Johnson lead the Kings attack with two points each as five different goal scorers chip in.

Honorable Mention
Despite the 5-2 loss Marcus Johansson had a good night scoring both Caps goals and believe it or not, Alex Semin had an assist, and was +/- plus 2 with three shots on goal!

Duds

Low Blow
Brad Marchand gets slapped with a five game suspension for his hit on Sami Salo. Personally I did not think the hit was illegal or dirty. I think it is a case of reputation of the player and the two teams recent history. Unfortunately Salo was concussed on the hit, and that would have been a factor in the suspension as well. It is unfortunate because Mr. Glass could injure himself eating delicious pancakes! Marchand got a raw deal IMO

Too little, too late!
Columbus finally fires head coach Scott Arneil, but way too late. Arneil's replaced by assistant coach Richards on an interim basis. This move was a desperate act by a desperate GM. The next move is usually a desperate trade. The kind where you see a player like Nash traded for spare parts.
The wrong man was fired IMO. Brian Kom nailed it in his Tweets yesterday

""[Arniel] tried everything and he was running out of answers. I didn't see much hope in moving forward with him." -Howson
i'd replace Arniel's name with Howson's to make that quote accurate. same goes for his "new direction" idea. #CBJ needs new GM, fast
Follow Brian on Twitter @BK_DobberNation

Jack Johnson scores, does a Tebow celebration.....yawn!!!!
How original is that! So clever, so funny, so original.....

Dishonorable Mentions
Alain Vigneault on Brad Marchand - and this is just my feeling - but someday he's going to get it. Someday, someone's going to say 'enough is enough' and they're going to hurt the kid because he plays to hurt players. And if the league doesn't care, somebody else will."

Seriously? You know you have Alex Burrows on your team right?

I thought Claude Julien's response was bang on
"You just have to look at Burrows putting his blade in Thornton's throat. So hypocritical. It's unfortunate. I guess we're stupid, we're idiots and they're the smartest team in the league. So I guess we have to listen to all the gab they have to say."

Make sure to check out the IR Report every Wednesday for the latest news on injuries in the NHL.

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Just found this youtube clip comparing mason Raymond hit on Marchand in last years playoff and comparing it to Marchand hit on Salo.
Raymond was not suspended if I recall correctly.
Very interesting!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10scJ...&feature=share

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You cannot use the ruling of the Raymond hit as a precedent setting ruling because:

This is not a court room and it is not English Law or a close derivative thereof. Every situation is different and calls for different interpretation. Can precedent be used in general? Yes. But we are talking about a different judge using a different set of interpretations for what is and is not legal. He is also setting up his own standards for what degree players are punished. Throw old examples from the reign of Colin Campbell out the window. They no longer apply here.

Saying that Marchand could get off free because Raymond did is like me saying we should stuff you in a sack and throw you in the river because I think you are a witch.

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It is interesting. Both players saw the hit coming and dipped at the last moment knowing they were about to clip someone. Basically the same result except each player tumble over in slightly different ways resulting in Salo banging his head.


Thanks for the Studs and Duds, great read.

Yes, good point. Different sheriff last year means looking at it is pretty much meaningless.