Philadelphia Flyers vs Pittsburgh Penguins: coach Dan Bylsma fined, Craig Adams banned for a game
The relationship between Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers continues to deteriorate, prompting the National Hockey League (NHL) to intervene with stern action once again.
The NHL office has suspended Penguins’ forward, Craig Adams, for one game for going after Flyers’ forward, Scott Hartnell, in game 3 of the playoff series on Sunday, April 15, 2012. The office also fined Penguins’ head coach, Dan Bylsma, $10,000 over the
player’s actions.
Adams had come in between Hartnell and Penguins’ captain and centre, Sidney Crosby, who were involved in an altercation. Hartnell and Adams started fighting after Adams allegedly yanked the former’s hair.
The league authorities have banned Adams and he is set to miss Penguins’ next game against Flyers in Philadelphia on Wednesday, April 18, 2012. Both sides face each other for game 4 of the NHL postseason.
The league assessed the player for a minor penalty for instigating, major penalty for fighting and his involvement in misconduct during the game before handing over the fine.
It was yet again that Crosby had been the subject for starting a row among players from the two sides.
Some of Flyers’ players had gone after Sidney Crosby in their last game of the regular season. It had turned out to the roughest condition in which the game was played by both sides.
Crosby, who has just come out of a lengthy absence from the game due to a concussion, remains prone to rough plays from opponents. It is lucky for him that he has not suffered any sort of head injury, specifically, again.
Penguins’ other forwards, Arron Asham and James Neal, also face league’s punishment, most probably suspension over their involvement in other fights, respectively, during Flyers’ game.
Neal went after Flyers’ rookie centre, Sean Couturier, sending him to the locker room and also attempted to hit an elbow to the head of Claude Giroux.
Asham, meanwhile, was involved in crosschecking Flyers’ forward, Brayden Schenn.
This is the second time that the league officials have to intervene with penalties to improve relationship between the two teams. The latest incidences of rough plays and consequent penalties show that both sides have continued to be on bad terms.
The ongoing tussle among the players from both sides had started in their last game of the NHL regular season, prompting the league to fine the coaches from both sides, while issuing warnings to the players.
It had all stemmed from a chase of Sidney Crosby by a Flyers’ player in the regular season game and since then, members of both squads are trying to settle the score with each other and to serve the purpose, they have gone rough to all possible extents.
Penguins and Flyers are set to face each other in Game 4 of the playoff series this Wednesday and it is yet to be seen if the players are able to control their emotions and stop going after each other.
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