Pittsburgh Penguins–New York Islanders brawl

Previous game

The previous Pittsburgh Penguins–New York Islanders matchup, which took place nine days prior to the brawl, featured several incidents that contributed to the hostilities between the teams. In the first period of that contest, Penguins forward Maxime Talbot delivered a "questionable but unpenalized" body check to the Islanders' Blake Comeau. Talbot was not penalized and Comeau played for the remainder of the game, but was diagnosed with a concussion two days later. The injury caused Comeau to miss four games, including the rematch against the Penguins.

A second incident occurred later in the game. With just 16.5 seconds left in regulation, Islanders goaltender Rick DiPietro shoved Penguins forward Matt Cooke as he skated through the crease. As Cooke fell to the ground, a scrum ensued. Penguins goaltender Brent Johnson skated the length of the ice and engaged DiPietro in a fight. Johnson threw a single left hook, knocking the Islanders goaltender to the ice. DiPietro was sidelined for six weeks following the fight due to facial fractures and knee swelling.

Brawl game

The Islanders were "bitter" over what had transpired in the previous game, and hinted that there would be retribution when the clubs next met on February 11, 2011. The game began as a penalty-filled affair as eight penalties were called for infractions in the first period. The Islanders started the physical play early in the game, as Micheal Haley was assessed a roughing penalty at the 2:37 mark in the first period. Halfway through the first period, the first fight of the game occurred when Haley fought with Craig Adams. A second fight broke out late in the period when the Islanders' Trevor Gillies squared off with Penguins' enforcer Eric Godard with just over two minutes left in the period. At the end of the first, New York had scored four goals on Johnson and led 4–0.

Early in the second period, New York scored two goals just 30 seconds apart, taking a 6–0 lead. After the sixth goal, Johnson was pulled and as he skated to the tunnel where the back-up goaltender sits, he was "showered" with boos from the crowd, largely due to the ramifications of his prior fight with DiPietro. Shortly after Johnson was pulled, the first brawl occurred. Due to his previous hit on Comeau, Talbot was targeted by the Islanders' players, and he was "jumped" from behind by Matt Martin. Martin's attempt to engage Talbot in a fight resulted in three separate fights breaking out. In his first NHL fight, the Islanders' Josh Bailey squared off with Pascal Dupuis, while the Penguins' Mike Rupp tangled with Travis Hamonic, while Martin fought with Deryk Engelland. All six players were automatically ejected from the game after each received ten-minute game misconduct penalties. Martin received an additional ten-minute misconduct and a two-minute minor for instigating the altercation. Martin's minor was offset when Engelland was assessed a minor for roughing for his part of the altercation. Three more minors were called during the period, which ended with the Islanders leading the game 8–2.

At the start of the third period, Johnson returned to the game and less than five minutes into the period, a second brawl occurred. The melee started when Gillies elbowed Penguins forward Eric Tangradi in the head. After the elbow, Tangradi fell to the ice, where he was continually punched. When Gillies was separated from Tangradi, he was given a five-minute major for elbowing, a double minor for roughing, a ten-minute misconduct and a game misconduct. Despite being ejected from the game, Gillies continued to taunt the injured Tangradi from the runway to the dressing rooms. Tangradi left the game with an apparent concussion. While that situation was unfolding, other incidents were occurring on the ice — Haley fought Talbot and, while that fight was being broken up, Johnson skated from his crease towards his blue line. Haley skated towards Johnson, then both players dropped their gloves and engaged in a fight. As Haley approached, Godard left the bench to join in the fight and protect Johnson. Godard was assessed a double minor for roughing and two game misconduct penalties; Haley received an instigator minor, two fighting majors, a ten-minute misconduct and a game misconduct (the game misconduct being automatic for a third fight in a game); while Johnson was given a major for fighting. Although he was ejected from the game, the crowd chanted Haley's name for the rest of the period whenever a scrum ensued, another of which occurred at the 16:04 mark in the period that witnessed another six misconduct penalties. As the game wound down, there was yet another fight when Joe Vitale battled the Islanders' Andrew MacDonald. The fight occurred with just 2:47 remaining in the game, but it would not be the last penalty handed out, as just 15 seconds later, Ryan Craig was given both a cross-checking minor and a ten-minute misconduct. Both teams scored a goal during the third period, making the final a 9–3 Islanders win. After all the ejections at the end of regulation, the Penguins had seven eligible players, while the Islanders had nine. Only 12 players from both teams combined did not receive any penalties: Marc-Andre Fleury, Alex Goligoski, Nick Johnson, Paul Martin and Jordan Staal of Pittsburgh; and Bruno Gervais, Michael Grabner, Milan Jurcina, Mikko Koskinen, Radek Martinek, Matt Moulson and P. A. Parenteau of New York. In all, 65 penalties were assessed, including 15 fighting major penalties and 21 game misconducts, for a total of 346 minutes. The penalty minute total set team records for both the Penguins and Islanders for combined penalty minutes.

Aftermath

The day after the game, the NHL handed out suspensions and fines for the incidents. New York's Trevor Gillies received a nine-game suspension and Matt Martin was given four games for his actions, which NHL Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell described as "deliberate attempts to injure." The Islanders organization was also fined $100,000 for "failure to control their players." Pittsburgh's Eric Godard was given an automatic ten-game suspension for violating League rules prohibiting players from leaving the bench to join a fight. Although such actions should result in a suspension for the player's head coach, the NHL elected not to enforce this rule. Tangradi, a recent callup from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, suffered post-concussion symptoms, causing him to miss nearly six weeks of playing time, which had the additional effect of making Tangradi, at the time of his call-up the leading scorer in the American Hockey League (AHL), miss the AHL's clear day (as he could not be reassigned while injured), making Tangradi ineligible to play in the AHL that post-season.

Following the announcement of the suspensions, Penguins owner and Hockey Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux questioned the direction of the League. Lemieux released a statement on the issue, saying, "The NHL had a chance to send a clear and strong message that those kinds of actions are unacceptable and embarrassing to the sport. It failed." He further added, "If the events relating to Friday night reflect the state of the league, I need to re-think whether I want to be a part of it." An alternate view was expressed by Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brian Burke, who noted that he felt the NHL acted "swiftly, harshly and appropriately." Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic agreed with Burke, stating that the NHL took a stand against line brawls and intent to injure opponents.

Boxscore

Penalty summary

Below is a table showing players from both teams and the number of penalties and penalties in minutes they received.