
NEWARK, N.J. – This wasn’t the first time Scott Laughton stuck his neck out to stick up for a teammate and it certainly won’t be the last.
That’s the kind of player the Flyers’ alternate captain is.
When New York Islanders alleged tough guy Maxim Tspyplakov blindsided the Flyers’ Ryan Poehling in Thursday night’s game at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.J., it resulted in knocking the Philadelphia player out of the game.
That didn’t go over well with the Flyers, especially when, incredibly, no penalty was called on the play.
Actually, officials were going to call a five-minute major penalty but changed their mind and let play continue without any time in the box.
This did not go well with the Flyers, who decided to take matters into their own hands.
Several Flyer players went after Tspylakov in retribution, not the least of them Laughton, who walloped the Islander with a good cross-check.
The price-tag? A $5,000 fine, the most that can be doled out by the NHL.
But a day later, Friday, justice was served when the league, after scrutinizing the incident, hit Tsyplakov with a three-game suspension. That cost the New York player a tidy $14,000 and change for his cheap shot tactics.
However, Tsyplakov’s suspension will still be in effect for the Jan. 24 game at UBS, so the Flyers will have to wait until the two teams play again on Jan. 30 at the Wells Fargo Center.
Given the Flyers’ hatred for out-of-town villains (see Cutter Gauthier), that one should be entertaining to say the least.
Chances are the case hasn’t been closed yet.
At Friday’s practice at RWJBarnabas Hockey House adjacent to the Prudential Center (aka “The Rock), Laughton said there was justification for retaliation in Thursday night’s game..
Also, why it sends the right message to the rest of the league: Don’t mess with us.
“When you see a teammate like that go down, it’s never good,” Laughton said as the Flyers prepared for Saturday afternoon’s game against the Devils. “When it’s mostly your head getting targeted.”
Even though the culprit has paid a pretty serious price for his indescretion, that doesn’t mean there still isn’t a score to settle.
“I thought we did a good job, honestly,” Laughton said. “I think it’s if he fights someone, it’s over with. Then you go about your business. But that didn’t happen. So it kind of went on all game.”
Nothing like going after an antagonist to heighten a team’s sense of esprit des corps.
“I liked our response,” Laughton said. “We came together and that’s one thing we’re really good at, sticking with each other and playing for each other.”
The Flyers are hoping to get enforcer Nick Deslauriers back in the lineup one of these days. He’s been out since November. Wouldn’t it be something if he made it back in time for the game on the 30th?
Laughton grinned when asked if Thursday night’s payback put the rest of the league on notice to chill on the dirty stuff when playing Philadelphia.
“Yeah, I think so,” Laughton said. “Obviously, missing ‘DeLo’ (Deslauriers) is a pretty big part of that. He’s a guy who’s right there in the mix of it.
“But we have some guys here who can do that job. Not only that. You see Bobby Brink finishing every check and things like that. That goes a long way in this room.”