Geno's domination upstaged by Lecavalier actions Sunday


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Ho hum, Evgeni Malkin nets a natural hat trick and adds two assists in a much-needed 6-3 win over Tampa Bay on Sunday. We’ve seen that act before from Mr. Malkin.

But that wasn’t the only big news of the day.

Malkin ducked to avoid a check by Vincent Lecavalier in the third period and Lecavalier got mad because Malkin moved away from the check. If that sounds as silly as it reads, that’s because it is.

What makes the situation sillier is that NBC Sports commentators, Keith Jones and Mike Milbury, defended Lecavalier and compared Malkin to Brad Marchand.

Sorry, the only thing remotely similar between Malkin and Marchand is the first letter of their last names.

Here’s a clip of the so-called incident. Jones not only paints Lecavalier as a frustrated victim, but he calls Vinny’s blatant sucker punch nothing more than a “late” hit.

Milbury is sometimes hard to take seriously. Do a YouTube search on Milbury and a litany of outrageous actions by the hockey analyst pop up. In December, Milbury was investigated for assaulting a 12-year-old hockey player, though a magistrate ruled that there was insufficient evidence to press forward. Here’s a link to the story.

The NBC Analysts missed the boat, however. A note from a Tampa Bay newspaper might help explain why Lecavalier chased Malkin around as if he had a target on the back of his sweater.

Damian Cristodero of the Tampa Bay Times wrote his take on the Malkin-Lecavalier incident here.

Cristodero notes that Malkin received a match penalty and a one-game suspension during the 2006 Olympics for trying to kick Lecavalier in the head. For what it’s worth, Malkin discusses his suspension here, and actually sounds more contrite about letting his team down than kicking Lecavalier.

Now we’re getting somewhere.

Maybe someone needs to tell Mr. Milbury about Malkin’s Olympic suspension. He could have a new favorite player.

A search for the 2006 kick on YouTube revealed nothing.

Apparently hockey players have good memories. Lecavalier left Sunday’s game without speaking to the media.

The Lightning star might be aging but he still has a good memory.

*****

I'll be back Tuesday with a Gameday article as the Pens look to make it three straight against the Hurricanes at CONSOL Energy Center.





Have a great day & treasure Life!
JT

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