Flyers Forward Suspended:

Philadelphia Flyers forward Harry Zolnierczyk has received a four game suspension for his hit on Ottawa Senators defenseman Mike Lundin during the first period of the Flyers’ 2-1 winning effort in Philly against the Senators.

Kristi Chan/Old Gold & Black

The collision occurred as Lundin crossed the blue line into the Flyers’ zone, with Zolnierczyk coming from across the ice to make the hit, leaving his feet and leveling Lundin. Several Senators came to the defense of their fallen teammate, and a fight between Kaspars Daugavins of the Senators and Zac Rinaldo of the Flyers quickly followed. Each man received a five minute major for fighting. Zolnierczyk received a five minute major for charging, as well as a ten minute game misconduct. In addition to his four game ban, Zolnierczyk will also be fined $13,000. Lundin suffered a concussion on the play and had to leave the game.

If you’d like to check out the hit, as well as the bedlam that ensued, you can see it here- http://youtu.be/zkkIaBnwEhY

Teams of the Week:

1.      Chicago Blackhawks (4-0-0)—The ‘Hawks keep rolling, undefeated in regulation almost halfway through the season. Detroit had them on the ropes late Sunday, down 0-1 until the last two minutes of the third period, and took them to a shootout, but Patrick Kane came up big twice for Chicago, and so the streak continues.

2.      Boston Bruins (3-1-0)—The Bruins are winners of six out of their last seven games heading into March, and sit at fourth in Eastern Conference with 30 pts. Montreal clawed ahead with a hard-fought win, however, and to hold serve, Boston will need more clutch performances out of their net minder Tuukka Rask and their stingy defense moving forward.

3.      Buffalo Sabres (3-1-0)—Winners of three straight, twice by shootouts against Florida and New Jersey heading into Sunday, the Sabres are looking to turn a so far underwhelming season around. They’ll need a lot of help from star goalie Ryan Miller and points machine Thomas Vanek if they want back in the playoff picture, though.

Stars of the Week:

1.      Tuukka Rask (Boston Bruins)—Boasting a 0.954 SV% between the pipes in his last 5 games, he’s allowed only 1 goal in each of his last 3 games. Rask is a big factor in the Bruins’ recent successes, and with Tim Thomas gone, Tuukka is now the main man in Boston.

2.      Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins)—Nobody is putting the biscuit in the basket like ‘Sid the Kid’ right now. With more than one assist per game, and 9 points in his last 5 games, it looks like pre-concussion Crosby is back and leading the 2nd place Pens.

3.      Eric Staal (Carolina Hurricanes)—5 points in his last two games. He’s 4th in the league with 12 goals, and along with Alexander Semin, he leads the 5th ranked Carolina offense this season as they vie for control of the Southeast Division.