Eastern News and Notes - 11.11.08
Ashley Gallant | National Hockey League
Nov 11, 06:21 PM | Hype this story!
Montreal’s Tom Kostopoulos didn’t play much in Saturday night’s 6-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and neither did Toronto defenceman Mike Van Ryn.
In the first period, Kostopoulos hit Van Ryn from behind and into the boards, leaving Van Ryn in a bloody mess on the ice. Kostopoulos was assessed a 5-minute major for boarding and was ejected from the game. Van Ryn, meanwhile, broke his nose and a bone in his hand, suffered a concussion, and cut his forehead.
Van Ryn will miss a month, while Kostopoulos will miss the next three games due to suspension by the NHL.
Kostopoulos released a statement and had the following to say:
“First and foremost, I sincerely regret the injuries suffered by Mike Van Ryn. This is an unfortunate turn of events. I was just trying to get in on the forecheck and get the puck. I didn’t anticipate him turning and couldn’t stop. I was trying to finish my check and obviously it did not end up well. I never intend on injuring another player. I feel bad. I hope he is going to be all right and resume playing as quickly as possible.’‘
Peter Laviolette makes NHL history
Peter Laviolette, the head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes, put his name in the record books last week when his team beat the Ottawa Senators.
Joe Corvo’s late goal against his former team sealed the deal for the ‘Canes and made Laviolette the winningest American coach in NHL history. He passes John Tortorella, who has 240 NHL wins.
Laviolette was very humble when discussing his accomplishment.
‘‘Those things happen – every year, somebody plays their 400th game, somebody scores their 300th point,’‘ Laviolette said. ‘‘If you stay around long enough, something will happen, and I’ve been fortunate and lucky to stay around long enough in this game.’‘
Even though ‘something’ happens all the time, it is still quite a feat. I bet Torts will be singing his praises tonight on TV.
Flyers and Lightning trade players
The Philadelphia Flyers lost one of their goons last week when they sent Steve Downie to Tampa. Defenceman Steve Eminger will follow Downie to the Lightning. Philadelphia, meanwhile, acquires defenceman Matt Carle.
This is a pretty good trade from Philly’s point of view. Carle is a young defenceman with 17 goals and 48 assists in 163 NHL games; he should help the defence while Parent and Jones are out. They also shed Steve Downie, who didn’t do much for their overall image in the eyes of the NHL.
I don’t know enough about Steve Eminger to comment on how good/bad he may be for the Lightning, but I don’t see how trading one young defenceman for another young defenceman and a pesky forward can help with the team’s overall defence. I’d rather see Tampa trade a few forwards for an experienced defenceman.
In other Flyers news, Daniel Briere returned to the lineup last week after having abdominal surgery. He has scored in each of the two games since coming back, but he left today’s game against the Islanders with what the team is calling an ever-descriptive ‘lower-body injury’.
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