This game was filled with fights and weird things. It just so happens that what happened with Darcy Tucker is what everyone will remember about this game. Tucker got into a fight with Darius Kasparaitis after Kasparaitis have Tucker a shot to the face. Tucker was beating him up pretty good while there were about 3 other fights going on at the same time. For some reason, referee Mick McGeough grabbed Tucker and just snapped. He pulled him away from Kasparaitis, pushed him to the ice, dragged him to the penalty box, and threw him in. As Tucker fell, Sandy McCarthy and Louie DeBrusk (who were already in the box) flipped out and started yelling at McGeough. It was completely unexcuseable. Here's what the Tampa Tribune had to say...
The Lightning lost a battle with the Penguins and
the referee but a crowd of more than 14,000 was entertained.
You half expect the Lightning to get pushed around by some
of their opponents. Especially if the opponent is a team the
caliber of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
But to get pushed around by the referee, too?
It happened Saturday night at the Ice Palace, where the
Lightning lost an entertaining shoving match with the
Penguins by a score of 4-1 and Darcy Tucker lost a bizarre
shoving match with referee Mick McGeough by a score of 1-0.
After grabbing Tucker by the back of the jersey and yanking
him out of a second-period scrum with Darius Kasparaitis,
McGeough dragged Tucker to the penalty box and then shoved
him backward into it with a two- handed push to the chest
that lit off a raucous display by Lightning fans, players
and coaches alike.
The fans littered the ice with popcorn, peanuts and beer and
soda cups while the players and coaches littered it with
expletive- filled protests aimed at McGeough, who apologized
to Tucker, saying he was ``out of line,'' but who refused to
offer an explanation for his action for the waiting media.
``He has to be held accountable for something like that,''
said Tucker, whose fall was broken by Sandy McCarthy. ``I
mean, the guys were talking in the room, saying if a player
did that he'd be gone for 20 or 30 games.''
Tucker isn't asking that McGeough receive such a penalty,
and neither are the Lightning, who apparently will not
pursue further action.
``I talked to him and he said what he did was a mistake,''
Lightning General Manager Phil Esposito said. ``He
apologized to the player and that's good enough for me. As
far as I'm concerned, it's over.''