[valo403]

Here's an intelligent person and former player discussing what happened:

This all gets going after Jamie Devane (a Leaf) knocks out Corey Tropp (a Sabre). The Sabres send John Scott over the boards, who promptly tells Phil Kessel he’s coming after him off the faceoff, then does. This is mind-blowing. My question for Scott is, what’s the plan here? Let’s say somehow the ogre catches the jackrabbit, was he just going to punch his face a bunch of times? I’m seeing it widely assumed that was the plan, and it probably was, but I just can’t believe it made sense in John Scott’s head, like, “this is going to go over swell with the league and Leafs.”

It’s so rare for it to happen (a heavy legitimately trying to fight a small scorer) that putting your star out against the other team’s meatbags is generally a great way to diffuse high tensions, as if to say “we’re not going to engage in your idiocy, we’re trying to play hockey.” Which is to say, I disagree with this take on Pension Plan Puppets this morning, which says that Carlyle made a mistake by putting Kessel out in that situation in the first place.

I’m hearing talk that people think Phil Kessel should be suspended for his back-of-the-leg chop on John Scott. The chop was comically blatant (as was the second), but based on situation and location (back of leg), I don’t think that was a suspendible play. That literally might be the safest option a guy like Kessel has to defend himself. I’d be surprised if an ex-player like Shanahan bothers with it, but if he does, I bet he just gives him pre-season games. (Hell, Kessel’s chops on that Flyers’ d-man last week were probably worse.)

http://blogs.thescore.com/nhl/2013/0...aw/#more-86077

But yeah, Kessel was out there looking for a fight