The Ice Sheet: Chris Pronger Jumps Handzus, Continues To Be the Epitome of Class

Every day from Monday to Saturday, The Ice Sheet will take a look at the biggest stories in the league that happened on the ice and elsewhere the night before.

Chris Pronger is a classic hockey conundrum. On the one hand, he's the sort of game-changing defenseman that comes along once or twice in a generation; they just enshrined one of those guys in the Hall of Fame. On the other, he has a propensity for being a boorish goon with a non-diagnosed allergy to integrity. No other player in the NHL can morph as quickly from a Hart Trophy winner to the equivalent of Sean Avery in Wally Szczerbiak's body.

Add Michal Handzus to a Pronger hit list that includes Pat Peake, Jeremy Roenick, Brenden Morrow, Ville Nieminen, Tomas Holmstrom, Dean McAmmond and the City of Edmonton. In last night's 4-3 shootout win by Anaheim over Los Angeles, Pronger pummeled Handzus at the end of overtime, earning an instigator, a fighting major and a game-misconduct. As usual, Pronger was on the defense, speaking with the Los Angeles Times: "He shot the puck after the whistle and I ran into him," said the Duck. "He tried to come back at me and I threw him into the boards. And then he started towards me." Interesting take ... although others claim they saw something dramatically different. (UPDATE after the jump.)

(Coming Up Next: Last Night's Losers, Hull and Avery Puck Headlines, the New All-Star Jerseys, Most Embarrassing Stat Line of the Night, Ovie and Sidney on Oprah, Games You Need To Watch Tonight and Snoopy Does Hockey.)

Battle of California's Rudy Kelly saw the Pronger pugilism thusly:

End of overtime. Michal Handzus has the puck with the clock winding down and shoots it on net with no time remaining. Now, did Handzus shoot the puck after the horn blew? No, he didn't. Did he shoot it when he had no chance to score? Yes, he did. Still, Chris Pronger, because he's protecting his goalie and also being a dickhead, decides to run Handzus into the boards. Then Jack Johnson tries to get in there and separate the two because he knows Handzus isn't a fighter (he's been in 2 fights in his life), but Beauchemin grabs him and prevents him from getting involved. (Lubo and Andy Mac just kind of hold each other while the whole thing is going on. They're like Tony and Maria.) Pronger shoves Handzus in the face, which causes Handzus to return in kind; Pronger then proceeds to drop his glove and rail Handzus in the face 3 times before the ref can separate them.

As the fans on LetsGoKings.com point out, Pronger's antics will earn him an automatic one-game suspension; depending on a Ducks' appeal, that could keep him out for the second half of this week's "Freeway Face-Off" on Thursday night in Los Angeles. In theory, something like this shouldn't hurt Anaheim all that much; but unfortunately for the Ducks, Scott Niedermayer is still busy being a selfish old man.

UPDATE: A poster below mentioned it and Bob McKenzie of TSN confirmed it on his blog: The NHL has rescinded the penalties so there will be no suspension to Pronger or a fine to Ducks coach Randy Carlyle. McKenzie writes that the League can drop the suspension if "it doesn't believe the incident was pre-meditated by the player or orchestrated by the coach."

So is the League is saying that referees Chris Lee and Ian Walsh got it wrong last night? If so, what's their punishment? Better question: If Pronger played for the Flyers, would he be out for the next five games?

Last Night's Losers

• The Panthers lose to Atlanta in overtime, 3-2. Fire Wagon Hockey? Not the biggest fans of Florida's Gregory Campbell: "Seriously, why is this guy still employed as a professional hockey player? You could slap some skates and a "Campbell 11" jersey on a goddamn koala bear from the Miami Zoo and no one would notice the difference except aaaaaawwww koala bear, so cute."
• The Red Wings blow a two-goal lead, lose 4-3 to the Blues, and Mike Babcock is pretty sure he knows why.
• Leafs lose to Habs; Bryan McCabe seen grazing on a hill with a herder.
• Wild fall to Flames, 3-2, and are sick of that Iginla dude.

Jerseys That The Majority of Sports Fans Will Never See



I saw one of these on the back of the NHL schwag catalog that came to Casa de Wyshynski last night. Not the worst All-Star Game jerseys the League's produced -- remember Turquoise versus Eggplant? But I think I know what the marketing pitch was for these sweaters: "Imagine Team Canada taking on a Leafs farm club..."

Puck Headlines

• Toronto forward Jiri Tlusty's scandal in 2 seconds: Nude photos, really sorry, not gay.
• Brett Hull is named co-GM of the Dallas Stars. Call No. 1: Adam Oates, to see if he has anything left in the tank. Call No. 2: Garth Snow for a primer on how unqualified ex-players can survive public ridicule and run a professional franchise.
• The Islanders' new arena looks like a gas station from a "Star Wars" prequel.
• Sean Avery is among a few folks fined by the NHL; perhaps a libel suit can cover the costs.
• Ray Emery continues to entertain the good people of Ottawa.

Most Embarrassing Stat Line of the Night

Dominik Hasek, G, Detroit Red Wings: 8 shots, 12 saves. Detroit pulls Dom in its loss to St. Louis after he faces four even-strength shots and only stops two of them. He reacted like Sandra Day O'Connor's husband on David Perron's five-hole shot to tie the game.

This Week's Glimpse Into the Maddeningly Awesome World of the HF Boards

The NHL marketing gurus need to start combing the Hockey's Future boards for ideas. "Backstrom #19" has it all figured out: The League needs to get Ovechkin and Crosby on Oprah.

Personally i think it would be great for the NHL, Ovechkin would love national t.v. It would give the NHL some media attention.

Best response to "Oprah + Ovechkin and Crosby=??????" on the HF Boards? That would be "Spoon," who writes: "Damn, I thought this was a trade proposal!"

Congrats, Backstrom #19: Your Aitch Effy is in the mail!

Tonight's Games You Should Be Watching

• Marty Brodeur goes for win No. 500, trying to become the second goalie in NHL history to reach that mark. Much more important for Devils fans: Beating the Rangers in their first visit to The Rock.
• The Patrick Kane Love Train rolls into Columbus.
• Carolina visits Tampa Bay, where they could lose a Cole but add a Ladd.
• San Jose heads to Dallas; Stars players suddenly realizing they have the job security of a sitcom writer right now.
• The Sedins have 31 points in their last 10 games against the Oilers. Kevin Lowe should seriously consider buying them.

Gratuitous YouTube Embed

GO SNOOPY GO!!!