Sorry to go to the Panaccio well right after posting our interview with him this morning, but he's got a great story on Simon Gagne being fighting mad about Alexei Kovalev's elbow to his head on Saturday.
The refs on the ice did not see fit to put Kovalev in the box, and Gary Bettman has ignored my entreaty to provide some league justice, something Gags believes the Commish would have done had it been a Flyer headhunting. “We’d be suspended 10 games,” Gagne said.
Amen. We saw it last season.
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But apparently we can't expect the league to evenly enforce the rules they've said they're focusing on, namely to cut down on the shots to the head. Paul Holmgren says it's going to take action from the players themselves, and Gagne says he's ready to assume that role if he has to.
“Maybe I’ll be the guy because we have to do something,” Gagne said.
“Talking to a lot of people here, talking to Homer [general manager
Paul Holmgren] and the coaches, it has to come from the players. So,
with what happened last night, I’m ready to be that guy.”
Talk is cheap. I'm still surprised the Flyers didn't settle this on the ice that night, although I'm happy they didn't end up blowing the game by having guys in the box when they were protecting a lead.