Sporting News

New York Rangers fume over Patrick Kaleta's hit on Brad Richards

Buffalo Sabres forward Patrick Kaleta heard plenty from the New York Rangers after Sunday's game. Can the NHL office be far behind?

Kaleta was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for checking Rangers center Brad Richards from behind in the third period at Madison Square Garden.

The Rangers scored twice on the ensuing power play before allowing a shorthanded goal to tie the game. New York eventually won in a shootout, 3-2.

Richards' head and shoulders crashed almost simultaneously into the boards after the hit, which happened at 3:28 of the period. He stayed on the ice for several minutes before slowly skating off under his own power. He later returned to the game.

Spector: League must toughen up to prevent on-ice 'frontier justice'

Spector: Sabres get a point but Kaleta's hit costs Buffalo a win

Afterward, the Rangers had lots to say about the hit, most notably Richards and coach John Tortorella.

"It's probably one of the most dangerous hits I've ever seen," Tortorella told reporters. "It's ridiculous."

"It's disgusting," Tortorella added. "It's a lack of respect. Each team wants to beat the other team, but you have to respect what's going on, on the ice."

Rangers defenseman Marc Staal did not hide his anger.

"It (ticks) you off and gets you angry," said Staal, who missed almost the entire first half of last season with post-concussion symptoms. "It was a cheap hit. The biggest thing is that you want to hurt them, and were able to get two (goals). It doesn't do that kind of hit any justice, but it was nice to score on the power play."

Richards said that Kaleta wasn’t even making a hockey play.

“That’s not even a head shot. That’s stupidity,” Richards told’s Katie Strang.

"If we're all gonna look at each other's numbers and ram each other from behind head-first into the boards, it's gonna be a tough game to play," Richards said. "That's not hockey."

Richards reportedly was grimacing when he spoke to reporters. He said that he was “very fortunate.”

Kaleta, through a Sabres spokesman, declined to speak to reporters after the game.

MORE: Kaleta has hearing, talks of how he changed his game

Kaleta has been disciplined by the league before. He received a four-game suspension for head-butting Philadelphia Flyers forward Jakub Voracek in November 2011.

The Rangers have two more games against the Sabres, both in Buffalo, on March 12 and April 19.

Around the Web