Tough decisions this past weekend for a lot of the NHL's off-ice officiating crew. And by that I mean, judging what is a legal or illegal hit and handing down the proper fine/punishment.
- Following Thursday's Atlanta/Washington game, Alex Ovechkin was slapped with a $2,500 fine for his slew-foot on Rich Peverly. As someone watching the game, I can honestly say it didn't look like it was intentional, and I think the league at least took notice to that. Either way, Ovie was fined and Caps fans weren't too excited about it. [Washington Post]
- You've already probably seen the David Booth/Mike Richards hit that I posted up yesterday afternoon, but on Friday night Colorado's Darcy Tucker and Carolina's Tuomo Ruutu got into a bit of a situation too. Ruutu delivered a hit to Tucker (video) that sent him headfirst into the boards. It didn't end well. Tucker is out for quite some time and Ruutu will lose $59,000 and sit out for three games. I've heard someone say Tucker may be out for the season, but I couldn't find anything to confirm that. [CBC]
- 9-2 is a nice record to have after 11 games, but even those two losses look like daggers in the back for Pittsburgh's Mike Yao. Dan Bylsma wants improvement on the power play. [Trib-Review]
- All hail Matt Cooke, destroyer of worlds. [Post-Gazette]
SBN power rankings land later today. I can only imagine a regulation loss to the Devils will have them dropping a spot or two. Regardless, I'll have it linked up later.