Although the Pens didn't get the win last night, you can't argue that Nick Johnson didn't have a productive game. After all, how many call ups can say they scored a goal in their first NHL game? For right now he'll have to keep that on hold as a motivator, as the Pens announced today that both he and fellow call up Dustin Jeffrey will return to Wilkes-Barre today.
Probably the best news to come out of this is the fact that Pascal Dupuis will likely return to action Sunday against the Flyers after taking a pretty devastating hit into the boards Tuesday night. I know a lot of us were wondering when we'd hear something about Dupuis over the past few days, but I guess the old saying no news is good news really applies to him here. He may have a bruise or two to show for it, but let's just be glad it's not more serious.
Also a probable return to the lineup Sunday is Philly fan favorite Max Talbot. Max has, without a doubt, been struggling this season. The reason for Talbot's scratch from the lineup remains "undisclosed," but between recovering from shoulder surgery and (a rumored) foot/ankle injury, luck hasn't been on his side much.
While on the topic of the Flyers, I guess now would be a good time to address a bit of controversy that stemmed from last night's Flyers/Rangers game in which four fights broke out, one including Daniel Carcillo on New York's Marian Gaborik. I'll break it down after the jump.
To keep it short, the whole thing is really turning into a fun little media run right now for a few reasons. For starters, John Tortorella was rightfully not happy with the fact that Daniel Carcillo beat down his fragile, high-scoring forward. But that's not even my favorite part of the debacle because frankly I kind of agree with Torts' opinion on the matter.
Instead, my favorite part took place after the game, when Tortorella fielded some questions from the media. One writer in particular, Larry Brooks of the NY Post, really got under the coach's skin:
Brooks isn't exactly the most loved writer in the New York circuit for a lot of reasons. As Tortorella hints in the cross banter, Brooks just has a way about him that suggests some content is fabricated. True or not, readers of the New York Post know it's an entertain-first, inform-later tabloid. That's kind of the selling point behind the paper.
I could go on describing Brooks, but there's really no need to. Today's article says all you need to know about the guy.
Example:
John Tortorella's sense of honor, an amorphous concept to begin with, was offended last night when Flyers' thug Daniel Carcillo dropped his gloves to throw punches at the Rangers' elegant pacifist, Marian Gaborik, at 5:43 of the second period of the Flyers' 2-0 victory
He's that kind of writer.
I bring all this up for the sheer fact that the Pens and Flyers are due for a rematch this Sunday on NBC. The Brooks/Tort stuff is just some added fun. But if a guy like Carcillo is going to go after a team's top winger on New York, what's he going to do this Sunday against Pittsburgh?