Capitals Tom Wilson Smokes Islanders D-Man Lubomir Visnovsky

Last night, at the 05:54 mark of the second period, Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson ran over New York Islanders d-man Lubomir Visnovsky. Wilson was given a two-minute minor penalty for charging. Visnovsky left the game and didn't return. That hit didn't sit well with the Islanders.

Islanders forward Kyle Okposo wasn't very impressed with Wilson's charge.

"He's an idiot," Okposo said of Wilson. "The guy runs around, hits reckless, leaves his feet. There's no place for that."

#Isles' Kyle Okposo on Tom Wilson's hit that knocked Lubomir Visnovsky out of game four, "(Wilson's) an idiot." pic.twitter.com/aHApLLUqfe
— Kevin Maher (@KMaherNews12) April 22, 2015

Wilson will not be suspended for his hit on Visnovsky.

@MattBarnaby3636 there isn't going to be one.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) April 22, 2015

Yep, Steve Ott is a Rodeo Clown

Yes it's true, Steve Ott is a rodeo clown. Personally, I would recommend circus clown instead. Rodeo clowns actually have a purpose in life.

I am so glad that someone from that national media has finally said this. I think the Wild should be applauded for their restraint and not taking the bait from the St. Louis Blues. It has been fun to watch the Wild players just look Ott and smile and skate away.

Jim Souhan, Star Tribune – Wild fans will want to treat Steve Ott as a villain. He’s not. Villains are frightening. Ott is more like junk mail — annoying but meaningless, and soon to be stuffed in the proper recycling bin.

If the St. Louis Blues were intelligent, they would be feeding off the talent of Vladimir Tarasenko. Instead, they are feeding off the idiocy of Ott, a supposed enforcer who plays like a child, holding sticks and patting heads instead of just once hitting someone square.

When Ott actually had a chance to help his team with a third-period breakaway, he lost the puck, then fanned on a pass in the crease. He’s not a hockey player; he’s a rodeo clown.

Sometimes Ott mimics a tough guy late in games, when the hockey portion of the evening has ended. Monday, with his team down by three goals in the waning moments, he jumped on the smallest player in the game, Jared Spurgeon.

I think that Ott's attacking Jared Spurgeon needs to be addressed at the right time and place. For the most part, that’s not the Wild game. The Wild are ranked 20th in the NHL in fighting majors and don’t have any players with more than five fights. Wild forward Chris Stewart has been in eight fights this season, but has only been in three as a member of the Wild.

WTH: Dustin Byfuglien Punches Corey Perry After he Scores (Video)

At the 03:08 mark of the second period, Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien punched Anaheim Ducks forward Corey Perry after he had scored a goal against the Jets. Not a very classy act and I'm sure the league will take a look at this incident, but I don't see a suspension coming.

Alex Burrows Gets Lucky

First, Alex Burrows hit on Johnny Gaudreau was dirty bush-league hit, but what do you expect from a clown like Burrows? Second, Burrows is lucky he wasn't given an instigator penalty. If I was the on-ice official, Burrows would be sitting tomorrow night.

Third, Calgary's Kris Russell had the opportunity of a lifetime. Burrows challenged him to a fight. Russell should have lit Burrows up like a pinball machine.

(1) Upon standard review mandated by Rule 46. 22, NHL has determined that VAN's Alex Burrows shall not be suspended for Game 4 vs. Calgary.
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) April 20, 2015

(2) Incident deemed "not related to the score, previous incidents in the game or prior games, retaliatory in nature, "message sending."
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) April 20, 2015

I keep hearing how some fans are offended about what transpired last night. This is why I like the playoffs, there's so much drama and energy in the games. You have villains and you have the scrums and dustups.

Erik Karlsson rocks Nathan Beaulieu

Nice hit by Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson as he rocks Montreal Canadiens forward Nathan Beaulieu. There will be some that say this is a head shot, but the head isn't targeted. This isn't a violation of NHL rule 48.

Rule 48 – Illegal Check to the Head
48.1 Illegal Check to the Head – A hit resulting in contact with an opponent’s head where the head was the main point of contact and such contact to the head was avoidable is not permitted. In determining whether contact with an opponent's head was avoidable, the circumstances of the hit including the following shall be considered:

(i) Whether the player attempted to hit squarely through the opponent’s body and the head was not "picked" as a result of poor timing, poor angle of approach, or unnecessary extension of the body upward or outward.
(ii) Whether the opponent put himself in a vulnerable position by assuming a posture that made head contact on an otherwise full body check unavoidable.

Grand Forks Herald: UND to pay some student athletes cost of attendance and some living expenses

For now, UND hockey (and 18 female athletes from a sport to be determined) will be the only UND sport that is going to give grant-in-aid to their student athletes. The NCHC schools are going to be giving  out money and UND is following suit.

Anna Burleson , Grand Forks Herald -- Athletic Director Brian Faison said concrete numbers will be available "soon," but the school is working to figure out how much it will cost to pay students with what they're calling "full amended grant-in-aid."

This will include tuition, mandatory fees, room and board, books, and personal expenses like transportation and it’s a trend Faison thinks all National Collegiate Hockey Conference schools will follow.

"We know we'll have it for the fall, we just don't exactly know what the dollar amounts are going to be yet,” he said.

UND and the Big Sky schools aren't going to give grant-in-aid to their other sports team, not yet at least. If the Big Sky decided to follow suit, that would require some series fun raising for UND and the member schools.

For now, Faison said the school has no intention to provide amended grant-in-aid to other sports because it isn’t necessary to be competitive with other schools.

“At this point nobody in our conference (Big Sky Conference) has indicated an interest in pursuing that at this juncture,” he said. “That doesn't mean they won't and we'll have to monitor that.”

Edmonton Oilers Draft Humor

You really can't argue with this. The Oilers have done nothing with all of the first-overall draft choices. I suppose this isn't funny to the fans from Alberta.

Time to make room for the new Chamipionship Banner right @EdmontonOilers? #NHLDraftLottery pic.twitter.com/F7yBMArrIJ
— Derek B (@Heavy16) April 19, 2015

Game-Ending Brawl Costs Flames Coach Bob Hartley 50,000

I guess you could say that Calgary Flames head coach Bob Hartley got his money's worth. At the end of last night's game between the Calgary Flames and the Vancouver Canucks, there was a massive line brawl between the two teams.

Line brawl aside, the Canucks won the game 4-1.

Needless to say, the NHL was less than impressed with the incident and Hartley has been fined $50,000 by the league for his team's antics. Somewhere, former Vancouver Canucks head coach John Tortorella is smiling from ear-to-ear.

NEW YORK – Calgary Flames Head Coach Bob Hartley has been fined $50,000 for his responsibility for the incident that took place with 1:17 remaining in regulation of the first-round playoff game in Vancouver on Friday, April 17, the National Hockey League announced today. The fine was issued in accordance with By-Law 17.3 (a) for conduct prejudicial to or against the welfare of the League.

In addition, the National Hockey League announced that the game misconduct penalty assessed to Calgary Flames defenseman Deryk Engelland for instigating a fight in the last five minutes of regulation has been rescinded.

Hartley was fined $25,000 for a similar incident during the 2013-14 regular season.

The fine money goes to the NHL Foundation.

Check out this impressive box score of the incident in question. That's a lot of penalty minutes.

New UND Women's Hockey Jersey

Here's the new jersey for the UND Women's Hockey team. And don't worry, Amy Menke will be wearing number 21 this season.

Wild Hockey, Nope! Tampa Bay Lightning and Detroit Red Wings Scrum

Thank God that the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues game didn't start till 2:20 p.m. CT. About 2:30 into the game, the Red Wings and the Tampa Bay Lightning were exchanging pleasantries. #BecauseItsThePlayoffs

Game 2! Let's Go! #STLvsMIN »»📱#mnwild & @mnwildLIVE | 📻 @KFAN1003 | 📺 @NBC
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) April 18, 2015

Does Anybody Believe Subban?

First off, P.K. Subban is an awesome player and does a really good job of playing the villain and hockey does need some villains to make the game more interesting. Or at least, I think so.

I know that hockey is a game of intimidation, and there's a lot of gamesmanship during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. After watching this video, does anyone believe Subban? He's beginning to develop a body of work.

Sean Gordon, the Globe and Mail -- “I’ve never done that in my career. It’s something that my family doesn’t condone, this organization doesn’t condone. I’m not out there to do that,” P.K. Subban said.

The act was a remarkably dumb decision, and Subban acknowledged as much.

“I don’t want take a penalty there, we’re already down a man, I just tried to let him know. I didn’t even look to see where I was going to slash him … I try to play hard in front of the net; obviously, it’s something that I can’t do,” he said. “As far as targeting anybody … if anything, I feel like a lot of times I’m the target.”

Subban chalked his exaggerated reaction at being tossed from the game up to a surfeit of emotion and allowed that in hindsight the penalty was “the right call.”

His tone wasn’t exactly repentant.

“I’ve been slashed a lot harder than that,” he said.

"I’m not out there to do that,” Subban said. Yeah, right. Two games and two acts that speak otherwise. Hey dude, it's part of the game. And yes, the Stanley Cup Playoffs aren't for the faint of heart.

(Video) Subban Is up to His Old Tricks; Punches Milan Michalek in Head

A game after being kicked out of a game for his bush-league slash on Senators forward Mark Stone. P.K. Subban is caught on film punching the Senators Milan Michalek in the back of the head during a scrum in front of the Canadiens net.

Hey, it's the playoffs. Right?

If I was the Senators coaching staff, I would start running the Habs star players. The standard has been set.

Grand Forks Herald: Fighting Sioux supporters still fighting

This past week, a group of Native American from the Standing Rock and Spirit Lake Tribes started a new social media campaign. UND is transitioning away from the Fighting Sioux nickname and is currently in the process of picking a new one.

Anna Burleson , Grand Forks Herald -- Supporters of UND's former Fighting Sioux nickname have begun a social media campaign to revive the name.

A video titled "The Sioux Were Silenced" was posted to YouTube Monday, starring Eunice and David Davidson, two avid and vocal supporters of the old name which was retired in late 2012 after a long legal battle involving the NCAA, lawmakers, university donors and the State Board of Higher Education.

"We believe there was an agenda by certain leaders in the state to rid the University of North Dakota of the Fighting Sioux name and make sure the Sioux people receive the blame," David Davidson said in the video.

Eunice Davidson also penned the book "Aren't We Sioux Enough?" that chronicles the eventual retirement of the name.

Currently, UND is gathering new nickname suggestions from the public with the intent to hold a public vote to choose a permanent nickname. The school has been playing simply as "UND/North Dakota" since the Fighting Sioux logo was retired and there is a possibility of keeping that as a permanent name as well

. This same story has also been posted on the WDAZ site as well.

A second video was released Tuesday about the name granting ceremonies featuring two Standing Rock tribal members Archie Foolbear and Robert Gates and Spirit Lake Tribe member John Chaske. The two daughters of the tribal official involved in a 1969 name granting ceremony also speak on the topic.

In the introduction video, the Davidsons also blame the Grand Forks Herald and The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, both owned by Forum Communications Co., for printing slanted articles against the old nickname.

"Since we started this fight we have seen the media, largely controlled by one entity, put out a completely one-sided message," Eunice Davidson said in the video. "Well in today's world, we don't have to rely on traditional media to get the truth out. We want to tell you what really happened from the Sioux's perspective through social media."

A Facebook page has also been created for the cause that as of noon Thursday had 7,494 likes.

(Video) Jason Zucker Goal in Game One Against the Blues

Minnesota Wild forward Jason Zucker scores an absolutely beautiful goal in game one against the St. Louis Blues. Zucker missed 27 games to a broken Clavicle. Zucker's return is like getting a player at the trade deadline. Zucker adds another speedy forward to an already fast lineup.

(Video) Penguins Blake Comeau Scores a Goal Against the Rangers

There was a battle in front of the net. Pittsburgh Penguins forward Blake Comeau scores a gritty goal against the New York Rangers. Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist didn't seem real pleased with the play and thought there was goalie interference on the play. What do you think?

Taking a Look at the Subban Slash on Stone

It's the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and on the opening night there's already some controversy.

At the 8:23 mark of the second period, Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for slashing Mark Stone. Some have said that the slash was weak and Stone embellished the call. I don't know. Stone suffered a microfracture on the play.

The Senators want Subban to be suspended for his slash on Stone and the Senators head coach Dave Cameron had some interesting things to say after the game.

Failing that, Cameron warned darkly, his team might have to inflict its own brand of justice on the Canadiens. “I think it’s quite simple,” Cameron said. “It’s a vicious slash on an unprotected part of his body and you either do one of two things. I think it’s an easy solution: You either suspend him or one of their best players gets slashed and you just give us five. It’s not that complicated.” Those are fighting words – literally, if Chris Neil dresses for Game 2. (Habs Inside Out)

Subban with a big chop on Stone that gets him 5 minutes and tossed from the game. The #Sens will have 5-on-3 for 1:51. #GoSensGo
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) April 16, 2015

Injury update: #Sens Mark Stone has suffered a microfracture of his right wrist & his availability for the series is unknown at this time.
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) April 16, 2015

According to the NHL, Subban will not be suspended for his hit on Stone.

P.K. Subban reportedly will not be suspended for his slash on Ottawa's Mark Stone http://t.co/6ifBWU8Ghx pic.twitter.com/iIlfMl3eQd
— HockeyNightInCanada (@hockeynight) April 16, 2015

P.K. Subban Major Peanlty for Slashing

At the 8:23 mark of the second period, Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct penalty for slashing Mark Stone. Was this the right call? I think it was.

Reading some of the comments online, there are some Canadiens fans that think that Subban was assessed an excessive penalty.

Subban ejection. Rule 61.3 and 61.5 pic.twitter.com/ctx2HTfdHH
— Adam Gretz (@AGretz) April 16, 2015

Here's another look at this incident. It's definitely a violent slash.

Brock Nelson Scores the First Goal of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Former Fighting Sioux forward Brock Nelson scored the first goal of the 2015 NHL's Stanley Cup Playoffs. That's the first Stanley Cup Playoffs goals of Nelson's career.

Brock Nelson scores the first goal of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The goal was also his first career playoff goal. #UNDProud
— North Dakota MHockey (@UNDmhockey) April 15, 2015

And the first goal of the 2015 #StanleyCup Playoffs goes to Brock Nelson. 1-0 @NYIslanders #WSHvsNYI
— NHL (@NHL) April 15, 2015

College Hockey’s Influence on Team USA World Championship

LORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - USA Hockey announced today the first 15 players of the 2015 U.S. Men's National Team that will compete in the 2015 International Ice Hockey Federation Men’s World Championship May 1-17 in Ostrava and Prague, Czech Republic. The initial group of players includes one goaltender, six defensemen and eight forwards.

Marc Arcobello, F, Arizona Coyotes (NHL) – Yale University

Justin Faulk, D, Carolina Hurricanes (NHL) – Minnesota-Duluth

Jake Gardiner, D, Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL) – Wisconsin

Matt Hendricks, F, Edmonton Oilers (NHL) – St. Cloud State

Torey Krug, D, Boston Bruins (NHL) – Michigan State

Dylan Larkin, F, University of Michigan (Big Ten)

Trevor Lewis, F, Los Angeles Kings (NHL) – OHL

Alex Lyon, G, Yale University (ECAC Hockey)

John Moore, D, Arizona Coyotes (NHL) – OHL

Jeremy Morin, F, Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL) – OHL

Steve Moses, F, Jokerit (KHL) – New Hampshire

Connor Murphy, D, Arizona Coyotes (NHL) – OHL

Mike Reilly, D, University of Minnesota (Big Ten)

Dan Sexton, F, Nizhnekamsk Neftekhimik (KHL) – Bowling Green State

Ben Smith, F, San Jose Sharks (NHL) – Boston College

Jimmy Vesey, F, Harvard University (ECAC Hockey)

Checking the roster, 12-of-16 players had NCAA experience. 

Enter Devan Dubnyk

Here's some of an article that I wrote for the Hockey Writers. 

On January 14, 2015, the Minnesota Wild acquired Devan Dubnyk (97-91-26, 2.69 GAA, .914 SV%) from the Arizona Coyotes for a third round draft pick in the 2015 NHL entry.

That move appeared to be a steal as Dubnyk started 38 games in a row for the Wild. During those 38 games, Dubnyk went (27-8-2, 1.78 GAA, .936 SV%) and helped the Wild qualify for the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Wild finished with a (48-26-8) record and will play the St. Louis Blues in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Needless to say, Dubnyk helped Wild turn their season around. Without Dubnyk, the Wild would be scheduling their tee times and playing golf. Since the Wild acquired Dubnyk, they’re a plus-43 goal differential. That’s the best in the NHL.

In three games against the Blues, Dubnyk is (2-1-0, 2.62 GAA, and .918 SV%) against the Blues this season.

Last summer, Dubnyk signed a one-year deal worth $800,000.00 with the Arizona Coyotes and will soon to be an unrestricted free agent. Based on his performance with the Wild, Dubnyk is set to cash in during the NHL’s 2015 free agent signing period. The Wild might want to consider offering him to a contract as soon as possible.