NHL fears message sending once again

In another effort that Colin Campbell can flex his muscles as he sees fit as the NHL disciplinarian, he’s stepped up once again to say that incidents in pre-game warm-ups will not be tolerated.

The threat of any confrontation in the pre-game warmup is of particular concern to the league. To the point, Campbell warned the 16 teams, if an altercation mars the series, the offending team could lose a roster spot on the night the incident takes place, meaning the disciplined team would be forced to play the game with 17 skaters and two goalies.

See, it’s stuff like this that makes me think that backup goalies should be designated fight-

starters in pre-game altercations. What the league seems to be most worried about is the Devils seeking revenge on, who else, Dan Carcillo of the Flyers for a high-sticking incident that occurred the last time the two teams played. The players seemed to put their differences aside already, but we all know how these things go.

As for the league’s worries, Carcillo is probably a guy with a target on his back. Last year after the league warned against “message sending” late in games, Carcillo was suspended one game (and then head coach John Stevens fined $10,000) during the Flyers-Pens series last year for butt-ending Maxime Talbot towards the end of Game 1. Pittsburgh won that series game handily 4-1.