Tales of the Tape: New Jersey Devils 4/1/09, Bill Guerin vs. David Clarkson

There are some things that come as completely unexpected, especially on a trickster "holiday" like April 1st.  Amongst these things is the listing of penalties from the 6-1 win over the Devils, complete with Bill Guerin getting 5 minutes for fighting.  Bill Guerin?  Really?

It should be stated that Bill Guerin is not really a fighter.  This is his second fight of the season, and one less than his total from last season.  Interestingly enough, two of his three fights from last season were also against David Clarkson, and he fared just about as well in either of them.  His other fight this year was a good showing against former Pen Ryan Malone.  Just saying.

Guerin came out strong with a couple of shots to Clarkson, but Clarkson got a solid shot in to the side of the head, causing Guerin to drop and the linesmen to come in.  It wasn't long or particularly pretty, and unfortunately Guerin got saddled with the loss on it.  Not that any momentum swing did any good for the Devils, who remained behind 6-1 for the rest of the game.

Have to hand it to Guerin for stepping up, though.  I'm always a fan of the veteran who's not afraid to drop the gloves.  Perhaps we will one day see Guerin finally succeed in his apparent mission to get a win over Clarkson.