BOSTON — It was a nasty affair in the first rookie game between the Bruins and Islanders on Wednesday night with four fights and an ugly incident that left Bruins forward Joe Colborne sidelined with facial injuries.
So will the Bruins need to pull a Reg Dunlop and hire an ambulance to circle the Garden on Thursday for the anticipated rematch?
Not likely, as the players will have to be careful with the fight restrictions in place for this two-game set. While ordinary NHL preseason and regular-season games don't call for automatic ejections for players until their third major penalty of the contest, in these rookie games the Bruins and Islanders have instituted a rule to limit fights.
Each player is allowed just a total of two fighting majors in both games before being ejected. That means the eight players who picked up fighting majors Wednesday night will be tossed if they pick up another on Thursday.
"It's two fights total," said Providence coach Rob Murray, who is overseeing the Bruins' rookie camp. "So if the first shift of the game tonight they were to get in a fight, they'd be out. Those guys will have to watch [themselves]. If they are going to do that, hopefully they can get some game in before they get tossed."
That will make things tough on Bruins Antoine Roussel, Ryan Donald, Tyler Randell and Matt Delahey, as well as Islanders Travis Hamonic, Alex O'Neil, Nino Niederreiter and Tony DeHart, who each picked up one fighting major on Wednesday. They will have to consider the consequences of dropping the gloves on Thursday, even if it's to come to the aid of a teammate.
"It's a fair rule," said Murray. "At first we thought there might just be a no-fighting rule, but for me, that's part of the game and it always will be. You've got to let the guys do what they do. I don't know if there's any so-called goons on either squad so it's not like it's going to be a gong show. I think you saw that last night. There were a couple fights and nobody got jumped. That's the way it is."
Murray wasn't sure if an instigator call would affect the automatic ejection for a second fight. If it doesn't, then the teams could use these rules as a way to gain a competitive advantage. Niederreiter is the Islanders' top prospect, and if a Bruin were to jump him and get him to fight, his night could be over early. The Islanders could do the same to Randell if they seek revenge on him for fighting Niederreiter in the first place.
"I don't know if that makes a difference, the instigator rule," said Murray.
Even with the revised fighting rules, there could be same bad blood in Thursday's game, as the Bruins were not happy with Justin DiBenedetto's third-period hit, which injured Colborne and earned DiBenedetto a five-minute major for elbowing and a game misconduct.
"Obviously we're disappointed that Joe got hurt," said Bruins defenseman Steve Kampfer, who served as the club's captain on Wednesday. "I'm interested to see what will happen tonight, but right now we're focusing on winning tonight."
While upset with the hit on Colborne, the Bruins were pleased with the way they stood up for each other.
"It really just shows the kind of guys we have in this locker room," said forward Tyler Seguin. "We came together pretty good and when one guy gets hit we're all sticking up for each other, so it just shows the kind of character the guys in this room have."
Now that character will be tested again as the Bruins' rookies will try to find a way to stand up for each other despite the restrictions in place on physical play.
