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Mike Cammalleri could be facing a suspension after ugly slashing incident against Islanders

Montreal Canadiens v Philadelphia Flyers - Game Five

of the Philadelphia Flyers of the Montreal Canadiens in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals during the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Wachovia Center on May 24, 2010 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Jim McIsaac

We’re going to have ourselves some controversy even before the season gets underway. Tonight in Quebec City, Montreal’s Mike Cammalleri lost his head a little bit trying to goad Islanders rookie Nino Niederreiter into a fight after taking exception to a play earlier in the game.

What happened saw Cammalleri high-sticking, cross checking, and then ultimately slashing Niederreiter in the ankle, dropping the rookie to the ice. Cammalleri was given a five-minute major for slashing and a game misconduct. You can see video of the chain of events here at YouTube.

After seeing the video, the most egregious thing Cammalleri does here is use “Dr. Hook” McCracken of “Slap Shot” fame’s technique for instigating a fight by poking at Niederreiter in the face with his stick. Slashing him in the ankle is about as low as it gets. Perhaps Cammalleri should leave the fighting to guys that actually fight instead.

The NHL will be looking into the incident according to CJ Stevenson of Sun Media, meanwhile Niederreiter is out of the game with a bruised ankle. The Islanders don’t expect the injury to be at all serious. Whether or not the league decides to punish the action over the result will be interesting to see.

(Photo: Jim McIsaac - Getty Images)