Panthers Goalie Thrashed By His Own Teammate

Florida's Tomas Vokoun probably felt a little blue after letting a loose rebound turn into a goal, but how do you think he felt two seconds later when his own teammate clubbed him upside the head with a stick?

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First, defenseman Keith Ballard got beat back down the ice, then he failed to secure the rebound after Vokoun stopped a breakaway shot, then stood by helplessly as Ilya Kovalchuk put the puck home to take the lead for Atlanta. Understandably peeved, Ballard reared back with a two-handed baseball swing to smash his stick on the goal post, but instead landed a blow flush on Vokoun's noggin, slicing his ear open and knocking him out of the game. (He's okay, but had to be taken off the ice on a stretcher.)

It's one thing to try and give your teammates a little nudge when the team is down, it's another thing to blindside him with a stick to the skull. It's like the one time you decide to throw a spitball in class and you end up hitting some girl in the face and killing her. (Not that there's any proof of that!) I suggest that Ballard pick up Vokoun's dinner tabs when the team is on the road, from now until forever.

Tomas Vokoun Injury [NHL.tv] Video: Vokoun's ear sliced by angry Florida teammate's stick [Puck Daddy]