Orr drops Fedoruk onto his ass in 21 seconds

The New York Rangers vs Philadelphia Flyers matchup started off on the wrong foot last night.

Colton Orr went after Todd Fedoruk a mere 21 seconds into the 1st period and very shortly afterwards dropped Fedoruk to the ice with a big overhand right. Watch the fight below:



This is the second time in three nights that two NHL heavyweights have dropped the gloves in an effort to 'send a message' to the other team and the rest of the NHL. The Toronto Maple Leafs Wade Belak went after the New Jersey Devils Cam Janssen on Tuesday night in retaliation for the late hit that Janssen put on Tomas Kaberle in the last meeting between those two teams.

This fight was eerily similar as Orr was going after Fedoruk in order to 'send a message' about the hit that put Brendan Shanahan out for 15 games in the two teams last meeting, even if it was accidental.

Still in the first period Orr challenged Ben Eager minutes after coming out of the penalty box and two went at it by the boards between the two benches. You can watch this fight below:



These retaliatory fights seem to be getting a little bit out of hand. Colton Orr is regularly sitting in the press box for the Rangers and was clearly inserted into the lineup tonight just to take the fight to the Flyers. It would be nice to see some suspensions or fines for this type of thing but I don't plan on holding my breath.

Kaberle returns, hopes Janssen doesn't shoot the messenger

The rumors out of Toronto are that Tomas Kaberle will return to the ice tonight, ironically against the team that knocked him out of the lineup earlier this month.

Kaberle is the offensive catalyst for the Toronto Maple Leafs and arguably there best defenseman to boot. If you have been sitting the Leaf players on your roster tonight might be a good time to put them back in your starting lineup... ummm Maybe Not.

Martin Brodeur was pulled from his last start after allowing 4 goals on 12 shots. If history has any bearing Marty will be on fire tonight and a shutout is a distinct possibility.

On the PIM side, all reports out of the Leaf dressing room say that no Leaf player will be looking for revenge on Cam Janssen, not even Darcy Tucker. I'm not sure how much of that medicine you are willing to swallow but I tend to believe it. More because the Leaf's don't truly have a player capable of taking Janssen to task than anything else.

Both Darcy Tucker and Wade Belak have dropped the gloves with Janssen this year and both fights went to Janssen, although Tucker did give a good account of himself (if my memory serves). It can be difficult to send a physical message when you get the snot beat out of you by the guy you are trying to give the message to.

If there is an attempt to send a message tonight, expect Janssen to shoot the messenger.