from Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News,
Vernon Fiddler was mad at the officials Monday night in Nashville. He was mad at the unsportsmanlike conduct call on linemate Eric Nystrom. He was mad at the Predators for being mad. He was mad at the way the game was going.
So with the Stars already killing a penalty, he skated up and shoved Nashville’s Mike Fisher right in front of the bench on a line change. Nashville got a 5-on-3, and that sparked the Predators to come back from a 4-2 deficit and win a 5-4 game in overtime.
Was it team-building or leading or even supporting a teammate? Or was that just a bad decision?
To be fair to Gulutzan, the Stars have only four unsportsmanlike conduct calls this season, and two came in that Nashville game. They have no “misconduct” penalties, and Benn’s was the first game misconduct. They don’t seem to be a whiny team.
However, they lead the league in times short-handed per game at 4.66, and that speaks to discipline. Among their transgressions, they are first in the NHL in hooking calls (20), first in high sticks (12), tied for second in boarding (8), fourth in interference (17) and fourth in roughing (14). That’s a lot of work in 21 games.
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