Alain Vigneault is so adamantly against how the referees treated the situation early in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals that he thinks it’s going to adversely affect the career of Dan Carcillo.
Carcillo was suspended for 10 games after he was found guilty of violating Category II of rule 40.3, Physical Abuse to Officials, when he resisted being taken to the penalty box by linesman Scott Driscoll, eventually squirming and catching Driscoll with an elbow.
“I still don’t understand why Scott grabbed him in that fashion,” Vigneault said on Saturday, his team up in the best-of-seven, 2-1, with Game 4 Sunday night at the Garden. “All Scott had to do was tell him — Dan didn’t know he had a penalty — just, ‘Can you come to the box with me? You have a penalty.’ It all would have been over. And in that split moment of grabbing him like that — obviously it’s inexcusable what Dan did — but those situations or incidences, one after the other, leads to a young gentleman’s career moving forward might be very tough.”
Saturday afternoon Carcillo filed notice for a review of the suspension, which is an appeal on an “expedited basis” by way of an in-person meeting with commissioner Gary Bettman.
Carcillo was so angry because a few minutes earlier in the game, Brandon Prust had nailed Derek Stepan with a late hit, breaking his jaw and eventually earning Prust a two-game suspension. But no penalty was called on the play, so Carcillo tried to take things into his own hands, earning a charging call on Prust that Vigneault thought was unwarranted in its own right.
So now Carcillo, who came to the Rangers midseason having been fined or suspended on 10 separate occasions and who declined comment on Saturday, has pretty much seen his season end.
“His first comment to me was, ‘I know I should have been in better control,’ ” Vigneault said. “There is no excuse for what happened. Two wrongs don’t make a right. Whatever happened before, he should have been in better control there. He knows that.
“I can’t begin to tell you how bad he feels about the whole thing. His situation, his personal future, the team, there’s nothing he can do about it now and there’s nothing we can do about it.”