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]

Here is palatial Scotiabank Place, home of the Ottawa Senators and, unfortunately, the scene of a rather spectacular accident on Wednesday night in the upper deck. As the Sens toiled against the Atlanta Thrashers below, a gentleman was lugging beers to his seat when he stumbled and went a-sailin' clean over the railing in the third deck. The good news is that, except for some lacerations, the guy is fine. He landed on three fat people (I'm assuming) — one of whom sustained a minor neck injury — whom all seem to be relatively OK as well.

That no one was seriously hurt is rather surprising, considering the following account:

According to witnesses, the man sailed headfirst past and over a few stunned onlookers in the rows ahead of his seat before clearing the low railing at the bottom of the third level and falling onto a row of seats in the level immediately below.

Senators president and CEO Roy Mlakar said the man was carrying two beers when he stumbled over a purse.

Scociabank Place fun facts:

• The first event hosted there, in 1996 when it was called The Palladium, was not a hockey game. It was a Bryan Adams concert.

• The arena hosted the largest crowd ever to attend a Canadian Hockey League game — 20,081 — in Dec. 2004 when the Kingston Frontenacs beat the Ottawa 67's .

• Tickets still available for Canada vs. USA in the IIHF World Junior Championships on New Year's Eve.

• It rather looks like the Palace at Auburn Hills, wouldn't you say?

Oh, and the Senators won one for Falling Beer Guy, beating the Thrashers on Wednesday 5-1.

Man Falls From Upper Deck At Sens Game [NBCSports]

So the Atlanta Thrashers' decision to have their mascot wear underwear for a night might have been the best one.

"What you can't see are the even creepier Victoria's Secret wings on his back. I think it was "molester night" at Philips Arena."

If the Phillie Phanatic — who, as we've mentioned, terrifies us — comes out in his underwear, we're gonna take a little break from sports for a while.

Atlanta Uses Reverse Psychology To Lure Fans To Games [Barry Melrose Rocks]

Brodeur Rising. Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk notched a beauty in this one, taking over the NHL goal-scoring lead with 22 in 26 games, which puts him on pace for 69 on the season. [insert joke below] The real story in this one, a 3-2 shootout win by the Devils, was Marty Brodeur, who has now won seven in a row and allowed only eight goals in his last eight starts. Which leads me to blame remarital bliss for the NHL's scoring woes. The once-struggling Devils are now tied for fourth in the East, likely due to the extra practice they get every time their new rink is cordoned off while they're still inside. (Or so Barry Melrose told me.)

Luongo's Wild Ride. Few things make a grown man cry quite like getting annihilated in fantasy sports, and given my hapless teams were both pitted against Roberto 'No Goalo' Luongo this week, it's been a tear-filled time in Mirtleville. Heading into the Canucks' 2-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild last night, Roberto hadn't let in a goal in more than 210 consecutive minutes, posting three shutouts in a row and slightly lessening my will to live. It took a green, hulked out Sean Hill firing a rocket at the net, combined with a tip by Eric Belanger, to finally beat Bobby Lou. Very satisfying free lap dances for all!

Goilers! The Edmonton wing of the blogosphere was on death's door not two weeks ago, deflated due to a lack of Gary Coleman, and this prompted the team to start winning a few games. Every Oilers-Ducks game this season has a sublime subtext, with Anaheim holding Edmonton's first-round pick this June, but the Oilers took this one and are on a 5-2-0 roll. Only in Alberta would a 30-year-old Italian man's return from a debilitating bout of ulcerative colitis inspire lyrical prose.

The Stanley Cup is currently making its way around the country, promoting the upcoming playoffs and picking up girls. It made a stop in Atlanta yesterday, so that means, of course, that Lil Jon popped in for a photo op.

As you can tell from the picture: Yeah, he hit it.

Lil' Jon Meets Lord Stanley [AtlantaThrashers.com]