Atlanta forward
Eric Boulton reportedly
called Tampa Bay's Paul Ranger this past weekend to apologize for his cheap shot last Thursday — a hit that gave Ranger a fractured jaw and a concussion and earned Boulton a
six-game suspension.
"He called and felt pretty bad," Ranger said. "He apologized. I don't think he meant to cheap shot me or anything."
Ranger's coach John Tortorella was much less charitable after the incident, launching into what the
Globe and Mail called
"a profanity-laced tirade:"
"The [expletive deleted] guy should be playing in the [expletive deleted] East Coast Hockey League, but instead he takes out a [expletive deleted] NHLer. He'll be suspended, but who [expletive deleted] cares? No one wants to see him on the ice anyway."
Suspension notwithstanding, Boulton still leads the league in penalty minutes with 38. (Predators left wing Jeremy Stevenson has 37 and a game tonight in Columbus.)