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John Scott is ‘fine’ with Kessel suspension

John Scott and Phil Kessel

To all those who were apoplectic at the NHL’s decision to give Phil Kessel nothing more than a preseason vacation as punishment for Sunday’s stick-swinging episode in Toronto, if it makes any difference, the guy Kessel attacked -- or defended himself against, depending how you saw it -- has no issue with it.

“I’m fine with it,” Sabres forward John Scott said, per the Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington. “It’s one of those things he’s just protecting himself.”

Not only was Scott accepting of the NHL’s ruling, he “was actually pretty apologetic” on the ice, according to Leafs forward David Clarkson, who, of course, left Toronto’s bench to protect Kessel, drawing an automatic 10-game suspension in the process.

Yesterday, Clarkson expressed regret for his actions in the melee.

And just to put a bow on this “everyone’s sorry about what happened” story, Kessel admitted that the second slash he gave Scott was “uncalled for.”