This week has been eventful for the NHL. Four teams, two games, 528 penalty minutes. The Boston Bruins game against the Montreal Canadiens was probably the most entertaining regular season game we will see this season. For both fan bases, it was a thrill to watch. The Pittsburgh Penguins game against the New York Islanders, while also going back to hockey’s roots with lots of goals and even more fights, it was not as pretty. It may have been fun for Isles fans to watch as their team got revenge on the Pens after Brent Johnson embarrassed their goalie Rick DiPietro by knocking him out with on left punch. However, their revenge was costly. Islanders players Matt Martin and Trevor Gillies have in person disciplinary hearings which means that they are both looking at suspensions of 6 games or more for their actions during the game. Eric Godard is also getting an automatic 10 game suspension for leaving the bench last night. Here are the videos of last night’s battle royale in New York:

Jordan Staal is my favorite player on the Pittsburgh Penguins. Want to know why? Watch his OT goal against the Los Angeles Kings last night. His thrilling goal gave the Pens the win with just 18 seconds left in overtime. The goal was epic, it was a gem and a beauty and I could watch it again and again. The fact that the Penguins were wearing their Winter Classic jerseys made it that much prettier. Here’s a clip of the goal (not the best angle, but still, appreciate it)

The Penguins obviously need to return to their dominant offensive game that fans became all too familiar with if they want to make a run at the cup this year. An overtime win against the LA Kings, no matter how fun to watch, is not going cut it if they expect to be serious contenders in the playoffs. Although they still hold a solid spot in the rankings, the Pens are dipping. The hope to keep the ball rolling tonight in New York against the Islanders. Last time the Pens faced the Isles, the score was too close for comfort and we’re all hoping the Pens can prove themselves as a consistently dominant team once again.

Who would’ve thought that a matchup between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Islanders would be so eventful? This matchup between Pittsburgh, a consistently dominant team, and the Isles, who, uh, aren’t as dominant, was a sight to be seen. Pittsburgh gained a 2-0 lead early with 1st period goals from Tyler Kennedy and Chris Kunitz.

The Pens and Isles warm up before the puck drop.

While the rest of the game was scoreless, it wasn’t without it’s highlights. The most notable of the game was obviously the GOALIE FIGHT between Rick Dipietro and Brent Johnson. Dipietro went after Matt Cooke which started a scrum in the corner against the boards and out of nowhere Brent Johnson comes to center ice and knocks DiPietro out with one punch from his left. Johnson stood on his head and punched DiPietro’s last night. It would have been his second career shutout (it was credited as a ‘team’ shutout) Here’s the video for all who missed it and for those who just can’t get enough of it.

The other noteworthy highlight was Maxime Talbot getting his 50th career goal and his 100th point. Talbot has always been one of my favorite players on and off the ice so its great to see him put up those kind of numbers.

Overall, this was a fun game to watch if you are a Pens fan. If you’re an Isles fan, well, you’re used to it.