The Vancouver Canucks continue to dominate the NHL headlines Monday, as the league announced a 15 day suspension without pay for Canucks coach John Tortorella for his actions during the first intermission of Saturdays Night’s game against the Calgary Flames in Vancouver. Within seconds of the opening puck drop, an all out five on five brawl ensued, resulting in eight ejections and a total of 152 penalty minutes. After seemingly undergoing a professional attitude change, (as evidenced in less chaotic, seemingly calmer news conferences and coaching behavior) Tortorella reverted to behavior that marred his tenure with the Rangers and other stops dating back to his days in the AHL. Through actions exhibiting pent-up frustration, not just for the coach but the entire team, the atmosphere inside Rogers Arena turned into that of a prize fight. Its understandable that Tortorella would be upset with Flames coach Bob Hartley’s decision to start Calgary’s brawlers (a line of tough guys including Brian McGrattan and Kevin Westgarth) for the first period, yet despite his frustration, storming the doorway of the Flames locker room and instigating near fights with Flames personnel in the hallways of Rogers Arena is deemed “both dangerous and an embarrassment to the league” by NHL Senior Executive Vice President of hockey operations Colin Campbell.

Understandably, some may see Tortorella’s actions as justifiable-his starting five was purely reactionary to Bob Hartley’s decision to start a few “goons” with the intent to start some trouble. Would any coach risk injuring skill players in what was sure to be a prelude to this Sundays Royal Rumble PPV? Throw in some history between the two coaches dating back to their days at Rochester and Cornwell of the AHL, and its a wonder an altercation of this magnitude hasn’t happened sooner. Bob Hartley got hit with a pretty severe fine for his role as instigator, thereby absorbing a portion of blame for his role in the hostile chain of events. Maybe it was the fact that coming into Saturday Nights game, the Canucks lost eight of nine, including that 9-1 beatdown at the hands of the Ducks. Regardless of the reason, the NHL has sent its message loud and clear through its punishment-tone down your act, as your actions has disrespected the sport you have so publically revered.

In other Canucks news, NHL.com is reporting that Canucks Captain Henrik Sedins franchise record iron man streak will end after 679 games. After nearly ten seasons of consecutive games played, a rib injury against Phoenix last Thursday night has caused him discomfort to the point where his is not expected to play in tonight’s game against Edmonton. He will finish with the six longest iron man streak in NHL history.