The Florida Panthers may be without the services of their starting net-minder Tomas Vokoun thanks in large part to his own teammate Keith Ballard. After watching the Thrashers Ilya Kovalchuk deposit the first goal of the game, Ballard, frustrated, swung his stick at the goal post (video below). Unfortunately, Vokoun's head was in the way of Ballard's two handed attempt at self-help. Vokoun was carried off on a stretcher and received stitches to his lacerated ear. The Thrashers went on to defeat the Panthers 4-3.

The Washington Capitals' star forward Alexander Ovechkin needs to figure out if he's a goon or a goal scorer. Ovechkin is slowly developing a reputation for dirty play and last night, his actions may have cost him more than just a suspension. Ovechkin deliberately initiated a knee on knee hit with Carolina Hurricanes defenceman Tim Gleason (video below). While Gleason was clearly injured after the impact, it appeared that Ovechkin received the worst of it.

Ovechkin was given a 5 minute major and a game misconduct for the hit, and should probably receive the same 5 game suspension that was just handed to Georges Laraque of the Montreal Canadiens for the same infraction. Aside from the suspension, the way Ovechkin left the ice last night may be an indication of a larger problem... perhaps a season ending injury. The Capitals went on to defeat the Hurricanes 3-2.

Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh